r 


••::.•".:'•;. 


THE   DOG: 


BY 


DINKS,  MAYHEV,  AND  HUTCHINSON. 


COMPILED,  ABRIDGED,  EDITED.  AND  ILLUSTRATED 


FRANK    FORESTER, 

AUTHOR  OF  "FIELD  SPORTS,"   "FISH  AND  FISHING,"    "HORSES    AND    HOB8EMAN3H1I 

OF   THE   UNITED  STATES  AND  BRITISH  PROVINCES,"   "THE  COMPLETE 

MANUAL  FOB  YOUNG  SPORTSMEN,"   ETC.,   ETC 


(Templet*  anb  lUfeb  ©bitton. 


GEO.    E?;  WOODWARD, 
191 'BROADWAY. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873, 

BY  GEORGE  E.  WOODWARD, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


EDITOR'S    PREFACE. 


IN  offering  to  the  American  public  a  new  edition 
of  DINKS  and  MAYHEW  on  the  Dog,  which,  I  am 
happy  to  find,  is  largely  called  for,  I  have  been 
induced  to  make  a  further  addition,  which  will,  1 
think,  render  this  the  most  perfect  and  comprehensive 
work  in  existence  for  the  dog  fancier  and  dog  lover. 

For  myself  I  claim  no  merit,  since,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  or  two  trivial  changes  in  unimportant 
recipes  in  DINKS,  and  some  abridgment  of  the  last 
admirable  work  of  Col.  HUTCHINSON  on  Dog  Breaking, 
whieh  is  now  included  in  this  volume,  I  have  found 
occasion  to  make  no  alterations  whatever,  and,  save 
a  few  notes,  no  additions. 

I  will  add,  in  brief,  that  while  I  believe  the  little 
manual  of  Dinks  to  be  the  best  short  and  brief  com- 
pendium on  the  Dog,  particularly  as  regards  his 
breeding,  conditioning,  kennel  and  field  management, 
and  general  specialities,  there  can  be  no  possible 
doubt  that  Mayhew's  pages  are  the  ne  plus  ultra  of 
canine  pathology.  There  is  nothing  comparable  to 
his  treatment  of  all  diseases  for  gentleness,  simplicity, 
mercy  to  the  animal,  and  effect.  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying,  that  a:\y  person  with  sufficient  intelli- 
gence to  make  a  diagnosis  according  to  his  showing 
of  the  symptoms,  and  patience  to  exhibit  his  reme- 

(56-0? 


iV  EDITOR'S   PREEACE. 

dies,  precisely  according  to  his  directions,  cannot  fail 
of  success. 

I  have  this  year  treated,  myself,  two  very  unusually 
severe  cases  of  distemper,  one  of  acute  dysentery, 
one  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  and  one  of  most  aggravated 
mange,  implicitly  after  his  instructions,  and  that  with 
perfect,  and,  in  three  instances,  most  unexpected, 
success.  The  cases  of  distemper  were  got  rid  of  with 
less  suffering  to  the  animals,  and  with  less — in  fact, 
no — prostration  or  emaciation  than  I  have  ever  be- 
fore witnessed. 

I  shall  never  attempt  any  practice  other  than  that 
of  Mayhew,  for  distemper ;  and,  as  he  says,  I  am 
satisfied  it  is  true,  that  no  dog,  taken  in  time,  arid 
treated  by  his  rules,  need  die  of  this  disease. 

Colonel  Hutchinson's  volume,  which  is  to  dog- 
breaking,  what  Mayhew's  is  to  dog-medicining — 
science,  experience,  patience,  temper,  gentleness, 
and  judgment,  against  brute  force  and  unreasoning 
ignorance — I  have  so  far  abridged  as  to  omit,  while 
retaining  all  the  rules  and  precepts,  such  anecdotes 
of  the  habits,  tricks,  faults,  and  perfections  of  indivi- 
dual animals,  and  the  discursive  matter  relative  to 
Indian  field  sports,  and  general  education  of  animals, 
as,  however  interesting  in  themselves,  have  no  parti- 
cular utility  to  the  dog-breaker  or  sportsman  in 
America.  Beyond  this  I  liave  done  no  more  than 
to  change  the  word  September  to  the  more  general 
term  of  Autumn,  in  the  heading  of  the  chapters,  and 
to  add  a  few  short  notes,  explanatory  of  the  differ- 
ences and  comparative  relations  of  English  and  Ame- 
rican game. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  v 

I  will  conclude  by  observing,  that  although  this 
work  is  exclusively  on  breaking  for  English  shooting, 
there  is  not  one  word  in  it,  which  is  not  applicable  to 
this  country. 

The  methods  of  woodcock  and  snipe  shooting  are 
exactly  the  same  in  both  countries,  excepting  only 
that  in  England  there  is  no  summer-cock  shooting. 
Otherwise,  the  practice,  the  rules,  and  the  qualifica- 
tions of  dogs  are  identical. 

The  partridge,  in  England,  varies  in  few  of  its 
habits  from  our  quail — I  might  almost  say  in  none — 
unless  that  it  prefers  turnip  fields,  potatoe  fields,  long 
clover,  standing  beans,  and  the  like,  to  bushy  coverts 
and  underwood  among  tall  timber,  and  that  it  never 
takes  to  the  tree.  Like  our  quail,  it  must  be  hunted 
for  and  found  in  the  open,  and  marked  into,  and 
followed  up  in,  its  covert,  whatever  that  may  be. 

In  like  manner,  English  and  American  grouse- 
shooting  may  be  regarded  as  identical,  except  that 
the  former  is  practised  on  heathery  mountains,  the 
latter  on  grassy  plains  ;  and  that  pointers  are  prefer- 
able on  the  latter,  owing  to  the  drought  and  want  of 
water,  and  to  a  particular  kind  of  prickly  burr,  which 
terribly  afflicts  the  long-haired  setter.  The  same 
qualities  and  performances  constitute  the  excellence 
of  dogs  for  either  sport,  and,  as  there  the  moors,  so 
here  the  prairies,  are,  beyond  all  doubt,  the  true 
field  for  carrying  the  art  of  dog-breaking  to  perfec- 
tion. 

To  pheasant  shooting  we  have  nothing  perfectly 
analogous.  Indeed,  the  only  sport  in  North  America 
which  at  all  resembles  it,  is  ruffed-grouse  shooting 


VI  EDITOR'S    PREFACE. 

where  they  abound  sufficiently  to  make  it  worth  the 
sportsman's  while  to  pursue  them  alone.  Where 
they  do  so,  there  is  no  difference  in  the  mode  of  pur- 
suing the  two  birds,  however  dissimilar  they  may  be 
in  their  other  habits  and  peculiarities. 

Bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  the  American  sports- 
man will  have  no  difficulty  in  applying  all  the  rules 
given  in  the  admirable  work  in  question ;  and  the 
Ail^Brican  dog-breaker  can  by  no  other  means  pro- 
duce so  perfect  an  animal  for  his  pains,  with  so  little 
distress  to  himself  or  his  pupil. 

The  greatest  drawback  to  the  pleasures  of  dog- 
keeping  and  sporting,  are  the  occasional  sufferings  of 
the  animals,  when  diseased,  which  the  owner  cannot 
relieve,  and  the  occasional  severity  with  which  he 
believes  himself  at  times  compelled  to  punish  his 
friend  and  servant. 

It  may  be  said  that,  for  the  careful  student  of  this 
volume,  as  it  is  now  given  entire,  in  its  three  sepa- 
rate parts,  who  has  time,  temper,  patience,  and  firm- 
ness, to  follow  out  its  precepts  to  the  letter,  this  draw- 
back is  abolished. 

The  writers  are — all  the  three — good  friends  to 
that  best  of  the  friends  of  inan,  the  faithful  dog ;  and 
I  feel  some  claim  to  a  share  in  their  well-doing,  and 
to  the  gratitude  of  the  good  animal,  and  of  those  who 
love  him,  in  bringing  them  thus  together,  in  an  easy 
compass,  and  a  form  attainable  to  all  who  love  the 
sports  of  the  field,  and  yet  love  mercy  more. 

FRANK  FORESTER. 

TH»  CEDARS,  NEWARK,  N.  J., 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Setter  and  Woodcock,         ......          Frontispiece 

Beagles,         ........    To  face  page   50 

Group  of  Dogs,          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .78 

The  Pointer, 241 

Cockers— Butler  and  Frisk, 46C 

Setters— Bob  and  Dinks, 579 

The  Wolf, Page     74 

The  Jackal, 75 

The  Mastiff,  .  .  . 104 

Cuts  Illustrating  the  Administration  of  Medicine  to  Dogs,      .  Ill,  112,  113 

A  Dog  under  tie  Influence  of  an  Emetic,  .....    118 

Head  of  a  Dog, 121 

Brush  for  Cleaning  the  Teeth  of  a  Dog,    .  ...    188 

A  Scotch  Terrier,     .........    197 

A  Dog  Suffering  from  Inflammation  of  the  Lung 

A  Dog  with  Asthma,  ...  .    219 

"         "     Chronic  Hepatitis,     .  .  .  .  .221 

"     Gastritis, .    233 

"         "     Colic, 252 

"         "     Superpurgation,         .  .  .  .  .  •  .203 

"         "     Acute  Rheumatism,  ....  .274 

AEabidDog, 

A  Mad  Dog  on  the  March,  ...  .....    8C4 

Head  of  a  full-sized  Pug  Bitch,      . 

The  Blood  Hound,    ....  • 

The  Beagle,    .  .... 

The  Gravid  Uterus, 872 

Parturition  Instrument,      .  ......    881 

The  Crochet, 

The  Bull-Dog, 4C4 

Dog  with  a  Canker-cap  on,  ...... 

A  Dog  Taped  or  Muzzled  for  Operation, 428 

Bandages  for  Fractured  Legs,        .  .  .  .  .  •  .445 


THE 

SPORTSMAN'S  YADE  MECUM. 

BI     -'DINKS." 

CONTAINING  FULL  INSTRUCTIONS  IN  ALL  THAT  RELATES  TO 

THE  BREEDING,  REARING,  BREAKING,  KENNELLING,  AND 
CONDITIONING   OF  DOGS. 

TOGETHER   WITH    NUMEROUS   VALUABLE   RECIPES 

FOR  THE  TREATMENT  OF  THE  VARIOUS   DISEASES 

TO    WHICH   THE   CANINE    RACE    IS   SUBJECT. 
AS   ALSO 

A  FEW  REMARKS  ON  GUNS,  THEIR  LOADING  AND  CARRIAGE, 

DESIGNED    EXPRESSLY    FOR    THE    USE    OF 

YOUNGS    SPORTSMEN. 


TO   THE    READER. 


No  one  work  that  I  am  aware  of  contains  the  information  that 
is  proposed  for  this  little  treatise,  which  does  not  aspire  to  any 
great  originality  of  idea ;  but  the  author  having  experienced  in 
his  early  days  very  great  difficulty  in  finding  to  his  hand  a 
concise  treatise,  was  induced  to  cull,  from  various  authors  what 
he  found  most  beneficial  in  practice,  into  ma.  uscript,  and  this 
collection  he  is  induced  to  make  public,  in  the  hopes  that  any 
one  "who  runs  may  read,"  and,  without  searching  through 
many  and  various  voluminous  authors,  may  find  the  cream, 
leaving  the  skim  milk  behind. 

Wherever  any  known  quotation  is  made,  credit  has  been 
given  to  the  proper  persons,  but  it  may  be  as  well  to  state  that 
most  if  not  all  of  the  Receipts  are  copies,  though  from  what 
book  is  in  a  great  measure  unknown  to  the  author,  who 
extracted  them  in  bygone  days  for  his  own  use. 

With  this  admission,  he  trusts  that  his  readers  will  rest  satis- 
fied with  the  little  volume  which  he  offers  to  their  indulgent 
criticism. 

«  DINKS." 

FM  Maiden   Canada  IF«I 

«-, 


CONTENTS  OF  DINKS'  VADE  MECUM. 


Breeding  of  Dogs  in  general, I5 

Setter, 18 

Setter,  Russian, •         •        •         •         .19 

Spaniel, 20 

Spaniel  and  Cocker,  .        .         • 20 

Retriever, 21 

Beagles, 21 

Breeding, 21 

Bitch  in  Use, 24: 

Bitches  in  Pup , .        .         . 26 

Feeding  Pups  and  Weaning.— Lice.— Teats  Rubbed, .         .        .  27  * 

Pointer  and  Setter, 28 

Breaking, 29 

Ranging,  how  taught, 30 

oq 

Quartering,        .  •        *         •        •         • 

Feeding, 40 

Condition, ••••' 

Kennel, 

Credit  given  for  Recipes, 49 

50 
Recipes, 

General  Remarks  about  Dogs  in  Physic,    .....     60 
Recipes  for  Diseases  incident  to  Dogs, 51 

58 
Distemper, 

Tabular  Form  of  Game  Book, 68 


THE 

t 


SPORTSMAN'S    VADE  MECUM 


BREEDING  OF  DOGS  IN  GENERAL. 

*  BEFORE  commencing  to  treat  of  the  most  correct  methods 
to  be  observed  in  the  breeding,  it  will  be  as  well  to  mention 
the  different  varieties  of  sporting  dogs,  and  also  the  various 
sub-genera  of  each  species,  of  which  every  one  who  knows 
anything  of  the  subject  need  not  be  informed ;  but  as  this 
work  affects  to  be  a  Vade  Mecum  for  sportsmen,  young  far 
more  than  old,  it  is  as  well  to  put  before  the  young  idea 
certain  established  rules,  not  to  be  violated  with  impunity, 
and  without  following  which  no  kennel  can  be  great  or  glo- 
rious. A  run  of  luck  may  perhaps  happen,  to  set  at  naught 
all  well  defined  rules,  but  "  breeding  will  tell "  sooner  or 
later ;  and,  therefore,  it  behoves  any  person  who  prides  him- 
self on  his  kennel,  to  study  well  the  qualities  of  his  dog  or 
bitch,  his  or  her  failings  and  good  qualities,  and  so  to  cross 
mth  another  kennel  as  to  blend  the  two,  and  form  one  per- 
fect dog.  This  is  the  great  art  in  breeding,  requiring  greaf 
tact  and  judgment. 


16  THE    SPORTSMAN'S  VADE   MECUM. 

POINTERS. 

The  breed  of  Pointers,  as  now  generally  to  be  met  with,  k 
called  "  the  English,"  distinguished  by  the  lightness  of  limb, 
fineness  of  coat,  and  rattishness  of  tail.  Fifteen  or  twenty 
years  ago  this  style  of  dog  was  seldom  seen  ;  but,  in  place 
of  it,  you  had  a  much  heavier  animal — heavy  limbs,  heavy 
head,  deep  flew-jaws,  long  falling  ears.  Which  of  these 
breeds  was  the  best  'tis  hard  to  say,  but  for  America  I 
certainly  should  prefer  the  old,  heavy,  English  Pointer.  Too 
much,  I  think,  has  been  sacrificed  to  lightness,  rendering  him 
too  fine  for  long  and  continued  exertion,  too  susceptible  to 
cold  and  wet,  too  tender  skinned  to  bear  contact  with  briers 
and  thorns,  in  fact,  far  too  highly  bred.  Not  that  for  a 
moment  I  am  going  to  admit  that  American  Pointers  are  too 
highly  bred ;  far  from  it,  for  there  is  hardly  one  that,  if  his 
or  her  pedigree  be  carefully  traced  up,  will  not  be  found  to 
have  some  admixture  of  blood  very  far  from  Pointer  in  its 
veins.  Now  this  mongrel  breeding  will  not  end  well,  no 
matter  how  an  odd  cross  may  succeed,  and  the  plan  to  be 
adopted  is  never  to  breed  except  from  the  most  perfect  and 
best  bitches,  always  having  in  view  the  making  of  strong, 
well  formed,  tractable  dogs,  bearing  in. mind  that  the  bitches 
take  after  the  dog,  and  the  dog  pups  after  the  dam,  that 
temper,  ill  condition,  and  most  bad  qualities  are  just  as 
inherent  in  some  breeds  as  good  qualities  are  in  others. 
Here,  then,  to  begin  with,  you  have  a  difficult  problem  to 
solve ;  for,  in  addition  to  the  defects  of  your  own  animal,  you 
have  to  make  yourself  acquainted  with  those  of  the  one  you 
purpose  putting  to  it.  Is  your  dog  too  timid — copulate 


with  one  of  high  courage.  But  don't  misunderstand  me, 
In  this  there  is  as  much  difference  between  a  high  couraged 
and  a  headstrong  dog  as  between  a  well  bred  dog  and  a 
cur.  Is  your  dog  faulty  4n  ranging,  may  be  too  high,  or 
may  be  no  ranger  at  all,  mate  with  the  reverse,  selecting 
your  pups  according  to  what  has  been  stated  above.  If 
possible,  always  avoid  crossing  colors.  It  is  a  bad  plan,  but 
cannot  always  be  avoided,  for  oftentimes  you  may  see  in  an 
animal  qualities  so  good,  that  it  would  be  wrong  to  let  him 
go  past  vou.  But,  then,  in  the  offspring,  keep  to  your  color. 

From  this  general  statement  it  will  be  easy  to  see,  that  ia 
breeding  dogs  there  is  more  science  and  skill  required,  more 
attention  to  minutiae  necessary,  than  at  first  sight  appears  to 
be  the  case.  Long  and  deep  study  alone  enables  a  person  to 
tell  whether  any  or  what  cross  may  be  judicious,  how  to 
recover  any  fading  excellence  in  his  breed,  or  how  best  to 
acquire  that  of  some  one  else.  We  will  endeavor  to  give 
the  experience  of  some  fifteen  years — devoted  to  this  subject 
— to  our  readers,  merely  resting  on  our  oars,  to  describe  the 
various  breeds  of  sporting  dogs  most  desirable  for  him  to 
possess,  together  with  certain  data  on  which  to  pin  his  faith 
in  making  a  selection  from  a  dealer,  though  as  the  eye  may 
deceive,  it  is  always  as  well  to  call  in  the  ear  as  consulting 
physician,  and  by  diligent  inquiry  endeavor  to  ascertain 
particulars. 

The  characteristics  of  a  well  bred  Pointer  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows  :  and  any  great  deviation  from  them  makes 
at  once  an  ill  bred,  or,  at  all  events,  a  deformed  dog.  To 
commence,  then,  at  the  head  : — the  head  should  be  broad  at 


18 

top,  long  and  tapering,  the  poll  rising  to  a  point ;  his  nose 
open  and  large ;  his  ears  tolerably  long,  slightly  erect,  and 
falling  between  the  neck  and  jaw  bone,  slightly  pointed  at 
the  tip  ;  eyes  clear  and  bright ;  neck  and  head  set  on 
straight ;  his  chest  should  be  broad  and  deep— the  contrary 
clearly  shows  want  of  speed  and  stamina ;  legs  and  arms 
strong,  muscular,  and  straight ;  elbows  well  in ;  feet  small 
and  hard  ;  body  not  over  long,  and  well  ribbed  up — if  not,  he 
will  be  weak,  and  incapable  of  doing  a  day's  work  ;  loins 
broad  at  top,  but  thin  downwards ;  hind  quarters  broad ; 
hind  legs  strong  and  large ;  tail  long,  fine,  and  tapering ; 
hair  short,  sleek,  and  close.  Here  you  have  the  pure  English 
Pointer,  and  as  that  is  the  best  type  of  the  dog,  we  shall  not 
attempt  to  describe  the  Spanish  one,  which  is  not  by  any 
means  equal  to  the  English,  and  is,  moreover,  so  quarrelsome, 
that  he  cannot  be  kennelled  with  other  dogs.  Good  dogs 
are  of  any  colors,  but  the  most  favorite  ones  are  liver  and 
white,  white  and  fawn,  pure  black,  and  pure  liver.  The  two 
first,  however,  are  better  adapted  for  this  country,  being  more 
easily  seen  in  cover. 

SETTER. 

We  next  come  to  the  Setter.  His  head,  like  the  Pointer 
should  be  broad  at  the  top  between  the  eyes ;  the  muzzle 
though,  must  be  longer  and  more  tapering,  and  not  over 
thick.  Towards  the  eyes  he  must  have  a  deepish  indenture, 
and  on  the  top  of  his  skull  a  highish  bony  ridge.  His  ears 
should  be  long,  pendulous,  and  slightly  rounded.  The  eye& 
rather  dark  and  full.  His  nose  soft,  moist,  and  large.  Some 


breeds  and  breeders  affect  black  noses  and  palates ;  but  1 
must  say  that  there  are  fulUas  many  good  without  the  black 
as  with  it  I  rather  incline  to  the  opinion  that  they  are  the 
b«st  notwithstanding.  Body  like  the  Pointer,  only  deeper 
and  broader,  if  anything ;  legs  long  to  knee,  short  thence 
downwards  ;  feet  small,  close,  and  thickly  clothed  with  hair 
between  the  toes,  ball  and  toe  tufts  they  are  termed ;  tail 
long,  fine,  and  tapering,  thickly  feathered  with  long,  soft, 
wavy  hair  ;  stern  and  legs  down  to  feet  also  feathered.  His 
body  and  feet  also  should  be  clothed  with  long,  soft,  silky 
hair,  wavy,  but  no  curl  in  it.  This  last  smells  badly  of  water 
spaniel.  Colors,  black  and  white,  red  and  white,  black  and 
tan.  These  last  I  consider  the  finest  bred  ones.  Roan  also 
is  good.  The  Irish  setter  is  red,  red  and  white,  white  and 
yellow  spotted.  The  nose,  lips,  and  palate  always  black. 
He  is  also  rather  more  bony  and  muscular  than  the  English 
breed,  and  ten  times  as  headstrong  and  enduring.  He 
requires  constant  and  severe  work,  under  most  rigid  disci- 
pline, to  keep  in  anything  like  decent  subjection. 

SETTER,    RUSSIAN. 

The  Russian  Setter  is  as  distinct  from  either  of  the  above 
varieties  as  bulldog  from  greyhound.  It  is  covered  more 
profusely  with  long,  thick,  curly,  soft,  and  silky  hair,  well 
on  to  the  top  of  the  head  and  over  the  eyes.  He  is  also 
more  bony  and  muscular,  with  a  much  shorter  and  broader 
head.  What  he  wants  in  dash  and  ranging  propensities,  he 
makes  up  for  in  unwearied  assiduity,  extreme  carefulness, 
and  extraordinary  scenting  powers.  The  cross  between  this 


20        THE  SPORTSMAN'S  VADE  MECUM. 

and  either  of  the  other  setters  is  much   valued  by  soma 
breeders. 

SPANIEL. 

Of  Spaniels  there  are  several  varieties,  but  of  these  the 
Suffolk  Cocker  is  the  only  one  deserving  a  notice.  All  the 
others  are  too  noisy,  too  heedless,  and  too  quick  on  their 
legs.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  any  one  of  them 
steady,  and,  therefore,  in  this  country  at  least,  they  are 
totally  useless,  since  you  would  not  see  them  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  day.  Yaff!  yaff !  half  a  mile 
off,  all  the  time  putting  up  the  birds,  and  you  unable  to 
stop  them.  The  Suffolk  Cocker,  on  the  contrary,  is  extremely 
docile,  can  be  easily  broken,  and  kept  in  order.  They  are 
extremely  valuable,  thirty-five  guineas  being  a  low  price  for 
a  brace  of  pure  bred  and  well  broken  ones  in  England.  The 
right  sort  are  scarce,  even  there.  Here,  with  two  exceptions, 
I  fancy  they  are  not. 

SPANIEL    AND     COCKER. 

In  appearance  they  are  much  like  a  raseed  setter.  The 
head  and  muzzle  is  much  the  same  length  and  size ;  ears 
rather  more  rounded,  but  not  so  long ;  body  deep,  broad, 
and  long  ;  hair  long  and  stiffish  ;  legs  and  feet  remarkably 
short,  amounting  almost  to  a  deformity,  and  extraordinarily 
strong  ;  tail  short  and  bushy ;  it  is  usually  curtailed  a  couple 
of  joints.  The  purest  colors  are  liver  and  white,  fawn  and 
white,  and  yellow  and  white.  These  dogs  are  slow  and 
sure,  remarkably  close  hunters,  and  obedient ;  just  the  things 


21 

for  cock  shooting  here.     Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  theit 
favor.     They  are  easily  taught  to  retrieve. 

RETRIEVER. 

A  Retriever  is  a  cross  breed  dog.  There  is  no  true  type 
of  them.  Every  person  has  a  peculiar  fancy  regarding  them. 
The  great  object  is  to  have  them  tolerably  small,  compatible 
with  endurance.  The  best  I  have  seen  were  of  a  cross 
between  the  Labrador  and  water  spaniel,  or  the  pure 
Labrador  dog. 

BEAGLES. 

In  some  parts  of  the  States  Beagles  are  used,  and  it  may 
be  as  well  to  point  out  the  characteristics  of  them.  First, 
then,  a  beagle  ought  not  to  exceed  fourteen  inches  in  height ; 
its  head  ought  to  be  long  and  fine ;  its  ears  long,  fine  also, 
beautifully  round,  thin,  and  pendulous,  rather  far  set  back ; 
body  not  too  long ;  chest  broad  and  deep ;  loins  broad  at 
top,  but  narrow  downwards ;  legs  strong,  but  short ;  feet 
small  and  close  ;  hair  short  and  close ;  tails  curved  upwards 
and  tapering,  but  not  too  fine.  There  is  also  another  sort  of 
beagles,  wire-haired,  flew-jawed,  heavy  hung,  deep-mouthed, 
They^are  very  true  hunters,  seldom  leaving  the  trail  till  dead, 
or  run  to  ground. 

BREEDING. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  at  certain  indefinite  periods  of 
the  year  a  bitch  comes  into  use,  as  the  term  is — generally 
twice  a  year,  and  still  more  generally  speaking,  during  tL0 


22 

time  you  most  require  her  services,  that  is,  April  and  Sep- 
tember, spring  snipe  and  grouse  shooting,  in  consequence  of 
which  you  must  either  sacrifice  your  pups  or  your  sport 
Now  I  am  aware  that  in  the  States,  for  this  reason,  a  bitch 
is  seldom  kept.  For  my  part,  I  do  not  ooject  to  tnem,  for 
from  experience  I  can  so  regulate  their  failings  as  to  prevent 
their  family  cares  from  interfering  with  their  hunting.  The 
knowledge  of  this  enables  me  to  have  my  pups  when  I  want 
them,  to  get  the  cover  of  a  dog  I  fancy,  when  a  strange  one 
comes  my  way  also.  The  best  time,  then,  to  put  the  bitch 
to  the  dog  is  early  in  January.  By  this  means  you  have 
your  pups  ready  to  wean  by  the  middle  of  April.  They 
have  all  summer  to  grow  in,  get  strong,  and  large,  and  are 
fit  to  break  in  October  on  snipe  first,  and  then  quail,  finishing 
off  on  snipe  the  following  spring.  After  this  litter,  the  bitch 
probably  comes  into  use  again  in  the  end  of  July  or  in 
August.  Young  ones  are  not  so  fond  of  it  as  old  ones,  and, 
consequently,  for  quail  shooting,  your  bitch  is  all  correct  and 
well  behaved,  so  far  as  regards  the  dam.  I  look  upon  the 
breeding  of  dogs  from  any  except  the  best  and  most  perfectly 
formed  of  their  species,  as  an  act  of  great  folly.  There  are 
times  when  it  must  be  done  to  keep  up  the  breed,  or  to 
acquire  one ;  for  no  one  drafts  his  best  bitches  unless  he  is 
an  ass.  For  my  part,  I  keep  five  or  six  constantly,  and  draft 
yearly  all  my  dog  pups  but  two  ot  three,  say  one  pointer, 
setter,  and  cocker.  By  this  mean*  T  have  the  pick  out  of  a 
large  number  of  well  bred  ones  for  myself,  while  the  drafts 
pay  the  expenses  of  keep  and  breaking.  This  is  impossible 
for  every  one  to  do,  and  they  mus*  pick  up  their  dogs  the 


THE  SPORTSMAN'^  VADE  MECUM.        23 

best  way  they  can.  It  is  my  intention  for  the  future  to  draft 
my  setters  to  New  York  and  my  pointers  westward.  My 
cockers,  I  fear,  will  not  go  off  yet,  my  imported  dog  having 
taken  it  into  his  head  to  die,  and,  until  he  is  replaced  from 
England — I  have  no  stock  for  breed.  I  could  only  get  a 
chance  of  four  while  last  there  out  of  many  valuable  kennels. 
However,  I  have  promises  of  drafts  from  two  or  three  par- 
ties, and  ere  summer  cock  come  in,  doubtless  a  brace  or  so 
will  dare  the  perils  of  the  sea  for  me ;  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying  that,  unless  most  amply  remunerated,  I  would  as 
soon  sell  my  nose  as  the  best  pup  in  the  litter,  if  I  wanted 

it,  nor  would  I  advise  any  one  else  to  do  it.     If  done,  you 

% 
have  to  put  up  with  inferior  dogs.     No ;  I  breed  to  put  a 

brace  or  so  of  the  best  young  dogs  yearly  into  my  kennel, 
for  my  own  use,  and,  while  doing  this,  I  also  have,  probaVy, 
ten  good,  well  formed  dogs  to  pick  from,  any  one  of  whicl 
were  one  in  want,  would  gladden  the  heart  to  get  hold  of. 
Sir  William  Stanley  used  to  breed  some  fifty  pointers  yearly. 
Out  of  this  lot,  two  brace  were  culled  for  his  use.  The  rest 
were  sold.  They  paid  expenses.  Many  were  excellent  dogs, 
but  he  got  the  tip-top  ones,  and  so  he  ought.  This  is  the 
way  a  man  who  cannot  afford  to  give  great  prices  for  good 
dogs  must  do,  if  he  is  much  addicted  to  shooting.  It  requires 
two  brace  of  dogs  to  do  a  day's  shooting  as  it  ought  to  be 
done.  Each  dog  at  full  gallop  the  whole  time,  except,  of 
course,  when  on  birds  ;  and  to  do  this  he  must  be  shut  off 
work  about  noon.  Few  dogs  can  go  from  morn  till  nighi 
without  extreme  fatigue.  I  never  yet  saw  the  dog  that  I 
could  not  hunt  off  his  legs  in  a  fortnight's  hunt,  taking  him 


24  THE    SPORTSMAN'S    VADE    MECUM. 

out  every  second  day  only,  and  feeding  him  on  the  best  and 
strongest  food.  However,  for  general  purposes,  three  brace 
of  dogs  are  sufficient,  and,  when  not  often  used,  two  are 
plenty  ;  but  no  one  ought  ever  to  have  less  than  two  brace. 
It  may  be  managed  by  always  going  out  with  a  friend,  he 
keeping  one  brace,  you  the  other ;  he  shooting  to  your  dogs, 
you  to  his.  For  my  part,  give  me  three  brace  of  my  own, 
and  let  those  be  the  best  shaped,  strongest,  best  bred,  anr1 
best  workers  there  can  be.  That  is  my  weakness,  and  to 
achieve  this  I  yearly  sink  a  sufficient  number  of  dollars  to 
keep  a  poor  man.  But  all  this  is  digressing  most  fearfully 
from  the  nursery  of  young  pointers  and  setters. 

BITCH    IN     USE. 

By  receipt  on  a  subsequent  page,  you  will  see  how  your 
bitch  is  to  be  brought  into  use.  We  will  suppose  her 
well  formed  and  well  bred.  If  faultless,  put  her  to  a  dog 
nearly  equal,  if  you  cannot  get  one  equal.  Save  the  dog 
pups  which  will  take  after  the  dam.  It  is  well  understood 
that  by  breeding  from  young  bitches  you  have  faster  and 
higher  rangers  ;  and  this  also  reminds  me  to  say  that  no 
bitch  ought  to  be  bred  from  till  she  is  full  grown,  that  is  to 
say,  till  she  is  two  years  old.  Many  people  breed  at  twelve 
months,  but  it  is  wrong.  The  bitch  is  not  full  grown,  and, 
consequently,  the  puppies  are  poor,  weak,  and  miserable.  If 
the  bitch  has  faults,  find  a  dog  of  the  same  appearance  as 
her,  while  he  excels  in  those  points  she  is  deficient  in. 
The  bitches  are  partakers  of  his  qualities.  Are  you  short 
of  bone,  nose,  size,  form,  temper,  look  for  the  excess  of  these 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM.  25 

The  cross,  or,  at  all  events,  the  next  remove  from  it,  will  be 
just  as  you  wish.  Any  peculiarity  may  be  made  inherent 
m  a  breed  by  sedulously  cultivating  that  peculiarity.  Avoid 
above  all  things  breeding  in  and  in  brother  and  sister, 
mother  and  son,  father  and  daughter — all  bad,  but  the  fir?< 
far  worse  than  either  of  the  others,  since  the  blood  of  each  is 
the  same.  The  other  two  are  only  half  so.  To  perfect  forn? 
should  be  added  high  ranging  qualities,  high  courage,  grea: 
docility,  keen  nose,  and  great  endurance.  That  is  the  acme 
of  breeding.  A  few  judicious  crosses  will  enable  you  to 
acquire  it  fof  your  kennel.  To  the  inattention  and  careless- 
ness of  sportsmen  to  these  points  are  to  be  attributed  the 
innumerable  curs  we  nowadays  see  in  comparison  to  well 
bred  dogs.  Anything  that  will  find  a  bird  will  do.  Far 
otherwise,  to  my  mind.  "  Nothing  is  worth  doing  at  all  if  it 
is  not  to  be  well  done,"  and  I  would  as  soon  pot  a  bevy  of 
quail  on  the  ground,  as  think  of  following  an  ill  bred,  ill 
broken,  obstinate  cur.  It  may  perhaps  be  as  well  to  state, 
that  when  I  spoke  of  "  crosses,"  I  had  not  the  slightest  inten- 
tion of  recommending  a  cross  of  pointer  and  setter  or  bull 
dog.  Far  otherwise.  Let  each  breed  be  distinct,  but  culti- 
vate a  "  cross,"  be  they  pointer  or  spaniel,  from  another 
kennel  of  another  breed  of  the  same  class  of  dogs. 

With  regard  to  setters,  a  little  separate  talk  is  necessary, 
for  we  have  three  sorts,  English,  Irish,  and  Russian.  The 
cross  of  English  and  Irish  may  and  does  often  benefit  both 
races.  So  also  does  the  Russian,  but  I  would  be  extremely 
careful  how  I  put  him  to  one  or  the  other.  Extreme  cases 
may  and  do  justify  the  admixture,  but  the  old  blood  ought 


26  THE   SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   ME  CUM. 

to  be  got  back  as  soon  as  possible.  He  is  of  quite  a  different 
species  to  the  other,  though  with  the  same  types  or  charac- 
teristics, yet  this  cross  is  rather  approaching  to  mongrel. 
Having  descanted  somewhat  largely  on  the  preliminary 
portion,  we  will  pass  on  to  the  rearing  of  the  progeny. 

BITCHES  IN  PUP. 

Bitches  in  pup  ought  to  be  well  fed,  and  suffered  to  run 
at  large,  and  I  am  rather  of  opinion  that  by  hunting  them 
occasionally,  or  rather,  by  letting  them  see  game  while  in 
this  state,  does  not  "  set  the  young  back  any."  Every  one 
is  aware  of  the  sympathy  between  the  mother  and  the  unborn 
fcetus,  and  I  for  one  rather  do  think  it  of  use. 

Few  bitches  can  rear  more  than  six  pups,  many  only  four, 
and  do  them  justice.  Cull  out,  therefore,  the  ill  colored, 
ugly  marked  bitches  first,  and  if  you  find  too  many  left, 
after  a  few  days  you  must  exercise  your  judgment  on  the 
dogs.  I  don't  like,  however,  this  murdering,  and  prefer,  by 
extra  feeding  while  suckling,  and  afterwards,  to  make  up  for 
pulling  the  mother  down,  which  having  to  nurse  six  or 
seven  pups  does  terribly.  My  idea  always  is  in  the  matter, 
that  the  pup  I  drown  is  to  be,  or  rather  would  be,  the  best 
in  the  litter.  It  is  humbug,  I  know,  but  I  cannot  help  it.  At 
that  age  all  else  but  color  and  markings  is  a  lottery.  Oft 
have  I  seen  the  poor,  miserable  little  one  turn  out  not  only 
the  best,  but  biggest  dog.  Therefore,  I  recommend  the 
keeping  of  as  many  as  possible. 

Let  the  bitch  have  a  warm  kennel,  with  plenty  of  straw 
and  shavings,  or  shavings  alone.  Let  her  be  loose,  free  to 


TH~E    SPORTSMAN'S  VADE    MECUM.  27 

go  or  come.  Feed  her  well  with  boiled  oatmeal  in  prefer- 
ence to  corn  meal — more  of  this  anon  in  the  feeding  depart- 
ment, mixed  in  good  rich  broth,  just  lukewarm,  twice  a 
day.  About  the  ninth  day  the  pups  begin  to  see,  and  at  a 
month  old  they  will  lap  milk.  This  they  ought  to  be 
encouraged  to  do  as  soon  as  possible,  as  it  saves  the  mother 
vastly.  At  six  weeks,  or  at  most  seven,  they  are  fit  to  wean. 
% 

FEEDING    PUPS    AND    WEANING. LICE. TEATS    RUBBED. 

Feed  them  entirely  on  bread  and  milk,  boiled  together  to 
pulp.  Shut  them  in  a  warm  place,  the  spare  stall  of  a 
stable,  boarded  up  at  the  end.  Examine  them  to  see  whether 
they  are  lousy,  as  they  almost  always  are.  A  decoction  of 
tobacco  water  (vide  receipt)  kills  them  off.  Rub  the  bitch's 
teats  with  warm  vinegar  twice  a  day  till  they  are  dried  up. 
If  this  be  not  done,  there  is  great  danger  of  their  becoming 
caked,  besides  causing  her  to  suffer  severely.  She  must 
have  a  mild  dose  of  salts,  say  half  an  ounce,  repeated  after 
the  third  day.  When  the  weather  is  fine,  the  young  pups 
should  be  turned  out  of  doors  to  run  about.  Knock  out  the 
head  of  a  barrel,  in  which  put  a  little  straw,  so  that  they 
may  retire  to  sleep  when  they  feel  disposed.  Feed  them 
three  times  a  day,  and  encourage  them  to  run  about  as  much 
as  possible.  Nothing  produces  crooked  legs  more  than 
confinement,  nothing  ill  grown  weeds  more  than  starvation  ; 
so  that  air,  liberty,  exercise,  and  plenty  of  food  are  all 
equally  essential  to  the  successful  rearing  of  fine,  handsome 
dogs.  Above  all  things,  never  frighten,  nor  yet  take  undue 
notice  of  one  over  the  rest.  Accustom  them  to  yourself 


28 

and  strangers.  This  gives  them  courage  and  confidence. 
Remember,  if  you  ever  should  have  to  select  a  pup  in  thid 
early  stage,  to  get  them  all  together,  fondle  them  a  little ; 
the  one  that  does  not  skulk  will  be  the  highest  couraged 
dog,  the  rest  much  in  the  same  proportion,  as  they  display 
fear  or  not.  This  I  have  invariably  noticed  is  the  case,  and 
on  this  I  invariably  act  when  I  have  to  select  a  pup,  provided 
always  he  is  not  mis-formed.  We  have  now  brought  our 
pups  on  till  they  can  take  care  of  themselves,  and  while  .ney 
grow  and  prosper  and  get  over  the  distemper,  we  will  hark 
back  a  little,  and  say  why  we  object  to  fall  puppies, — simply 
because  they  are  generally  stunted  by  the  cold,  unless  they 
are  house-reared.  They  come  in  better,  certainly,  for  break- 
ing, but  it  is  not  so  good  to  have  them  after  September  at 
the  latest,  unless  it  be  down  South,  where,  I  fancy,  the  order 
of  things  would,  or  rather  should,  be  reversed. 

POINTER    AND    SETTER. 

Hitherto  I  have  omitted  to  compare  the  respective  merits 
of  pointer  and  setter.  This  I  had  intended  to  have  done 
altogether,  but  fearful  lest  fault  should  be  found  with  me  for 
doing  so,  I  state  it  as  my  deliberate  opinion,  that  there  is 
nothing  to  choose  between  them  "  year  in  and  year  out." 
A  setter  may  stand  the  cold  better  and  may  stand  the 
briers  better,  but  the  heat  and  want  of  water  he  cannot 
stand.  A  pointer,  I  admit,  cannot  quite  stand  cold  so  well, 
but  he  will  face  thorns  quite  as  well,  if  he  be  the  right  sort, 
and  pure  bred,  but  he  don't  come  out  quite  so  well  from  it 
as  the  setter  does.  The  one  does  it  because  it  don't  hurt 


THE   SPORTSMAN'S    VADE   MECUM.  '29 

him,  the  other  does  it  because  he  is  told  so  to  do,  and  his 
pluck,  his  high  moral  courage  won't  let  him  say  no.  Foi 
heat  and  drought  he  don't  care  a  rush,  comparatively,  and 
will  kill  a  setter  dead,  were  he  to  attempt  to  follow  him. 
Westward,  in  4he  neighborhood  of  Detroit,  the  pros  and 
cons  are  pretty  equal.  I  hunt  both  indiscriminately,  and 
see  no  difference  either  in  their  powers  of  endurance,  see 
exceptions  above,  or  hunting  qualifications.  For  the  prairies, 
however,  I  should  say  the  pointer  was  infinitely  superior,  for 
there  the  shooting — of  prairie  hen — is  in  the  two  hottest 
months  of  the  year,  and  the  ground  almost,  if  not  quite, 
devoid  of  water.  Therefore,  the  pointer  there  is  the  dog,  and 
if  well  and  purely  bred,  he  is  as  gallant  a  ranger  as  the 
setter.  Eastward,  in  New  Jersey  and  Maryland,  I  am  led  to 
believe  that  setters  may  be  the  best  there.  Except "  sum- 
mer cock,"  all  the  shooting  is  in  spring  or  late  fall.  West- 
ward, we  commence  quail  shooting  on  September  the  first. 
There,  I  believe,  not  until  November  the  first.  Here  we 
have  few  or  no  briers  or  thorned  things,  save  and  except  an 
odd  blackberry  or  raspberry  bush.  There  they  have  these 
and  cat  briers  also,  and  that  infernal  young  locust  tree 
almost  would  skin  a  pointer.  Therefore,  for  those  regions,  a 
setter  is  more  preferable.  Still  more  so  the  real  springer. 

BREAKING. 

We  will  now  pass  on  to  the  breaking  of  our  young  dogs. 
This  may  be  begun  when  they  are  four  or  five  months  old,  to 
a  certain  extent.  They  may  be  taught  to.  "  charge"  and  obey 
a  trifle,  but  it  must  be  done  so  discreetly  that  it  were  almost 


30 

better  left  alone.  Nevertheless,  I  generally  teach  them  some 
little,  taking  care  never  to  cow  them,  one  by  one.  This  down- 
charging  must  be  taught  them  in  a  room  or  any  convenient 
place.  Put  them  into  the  proper  position,  hind  legs  under 
the  body,  nose  on  the  ground  between  their  fore-paws. 
Retaining  them  so  with  one  hand  on  their  head,  your  feet 
one  on  each  side  their  hind  quarters,  with  the  other  hand 
pat  and  encourage  them.  Do  not  persist  at  this  early  age 
more  than  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  and  after  it  is  over,  play 
with  and  fondle  them.  At  this  time  also  teach  them  to 
fetch  and  carry ;  to  know  their  names.  Recollect  that  any 
name  ending  in  o,  as  "  Ponto,"  "  Cato,"  &c.,  very  common 
ones  by  the  way,  is  bad.  The  only  word  ending  in  o  ought 
to  be  "  Toho,"  often  abbreviated  into  "  ho."  This  objection 
will  be  evident  to  any  person  who  reflects  for  a  moment,  and 
a  dog  will  answer  to  any  other  short  two  syllable  word 
equally  as  well.  These  two  lessons,  and  answering  to  the 
whistle,  are  about  all  that  can  or  should  be  taught  them. 

RANGING,    HOW    TAUGHT. 

Nine  months,  or  better,  twelve,  is  soon  enough  to  enter 
into  the  serious  part  of  breaking.  This  is  more  to  be  effected 
by  kind  determination  than  by  brute  force.  Avoid  the  use 
of  the  whip.  Indeed,  it  never  in  my  opinion  ought  to  be 
seen,  except  in  real  shooting,  instead  of  which  we  would  use 
a  cord  about  five  or  ten  yards  long.  Fasten  one  end  round 
the  dog's  neck,  the  other  to  a  peg  firmly  staked  in  the 
ground ;  before  doing  this,  however,  your  young  doga 
should,  along  with  a  high  ranging  dog,  be  taken  out  into  a 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE    MECUM.  31 

field  where  there  is  no  game,  and  suffered  to  run  at  large 
without  control  until  they  are  well  practised  in  ranging. 
Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  this  point,  as  on  this  first 
step  in  a  great  measure  depends  the  future  ranging  pro- 
pensities of  the  clog.  Where  a  youngster  sees  the  old  one 
galloping  about  as  hard  as  he  can,  he  soon  takes  the  hint 
and  follows.  After  a  few  days,  the  old  one  may  be  left 
behind,  when  the  pups  will  gallop  about  equally  as 
well.  These  lessons  should  never  be  too  long  as  to  time, 
else  the  effect  is  lost.  Another  good  plan  also  is  to 
accustom  them  to  follow  you  on  horseback  at  a  good  rate. 
They  will  learn  by  this  to  gallop,  not  to  trot,  than  which 
nothing  is  more  disgusting  in  a  dog.  When  you  have  your 
pup  well  "  confirmed  in  ranging,"  take  the  cord,  as  above 
directed,  peg  him  down.  Probably  he  will  attempt  to  follow 
you  as  you  leave  him,  in  which  case  the  cord  will  check  him 
with  more  or  less  force,  according  to  the  pace  he  goes  at. 
The  more  he  resists  the  more  he  punishes  himself.  At  last 
he  finds  that  by  being  still  he  is  best  off.  Generally  he  lies 
down.  At  all  events,  he  stands  still.  This  is  just  what  you 
desire.  Without  your  intervention  he  punishes  himself,  and 
learns  a  lesson  of  great  value,  without  attributing  it  to  you, 
and  consequently  fearing  you,  to  wit : — that  he  is  not  to 
have  his  own  way  always.  After  repeating  this  lesson  a  few 
times,  you  may  take  him  to  the  peg,  and  "  down "  or 
"  charge,"  as  you  like  the  term  best,  close  to  the  peg  in  the 
proper  position.  Move  away,  but  if  he  stirs  one  single  inch, 
check  him  by  the  cord  and  drag  him  back,  crying  "  down  " 
or  "  charge."  For  the  future  I  shall  use  the  word  "  down." 


You  can  in  practice  which  you  please.  Leave  him  again, 
checking  him  when  he  moves,  or  letting  him  do  it  for  nim- 
self  when  he  gets  to  the  end  of  it,  always  bringing  him, 
however,  back  to  the  peg,  jerking  the  cord  with  more  or  less 
severity.  Do  this  for  eight  or  ten  times,  and  he  will  not 
stir.  You  must  now  walk  quite  out  of  sight,  round  him,  run 
at  him,  in  fact,  do  anything  you  can  to  make  him  move, 
when,  if  he  moves,  he  must  be  checked  as  before,  until  he  is 
perfectly  steady.  It  is  essential  in  this  system  of  breaking 
that  this  first  lesson  should  be  so  effectually  taught  that 
nothing  shall  induce  the  dog  to  move,  and  one  quarter  of  an 
hour  will  generally  effect  this.  In  all  probability,  the  dog 
will  be  much  cowed  by  this  treatment.  Go  up  to  him,  pat 
him,  lift  him  up,  caress  him,  and  take  him  home  for  that 
day.  Half  an  hour  per  day  for  each  dog  will  soon  get  over 
a  long  list  of  them.  There  is  no  more  severe,  I  may  as  well 
remark  here,  or  more  gentle  method  of  breaking  .than  this; 
more  or  less  vim  being  put  into  the  check,  according  to  tho 
nature  of  the  beast.  I  never  saw  it  fail  to  daunt  the  most 
resolute,  audacious  devil,  nor  yet  to  cow  the  most  timid  after 
the  first  or  second  attempt,  for  it  is  essential  in  the  first 
instance  that  THEY  SHOULD  OBEY.  The  next  day,  and  for 
many  days,  you  commence  as  at  first.  Peg  him  down,  <fec., 
and  after  he  does  this  properly  lift  him  up  and  walk  him 
about,  holding  on  to  the  cord  still  pegged  in  the  ground, 
suddenly  cry  "  Down  /"  accompanying  the  word  with  a 
check  more  or  less  severe,  as  requisite,  till  he  does  go  down. 
Leave  him  as  before.  If  he  don't  move,  go  up  to  him,  pat 
him — a  young  dog  ought  never  to  move  while  breaking  until 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S    VADE   MECUM.  33 

he  is  touched — lift  him  up,  if  necessary,  lead  him  abouc, 
again  cry  "  down,"  and  check  him  until  he  falls  instantly  at 
the  word.  This  will  do  for  lesson  No.  2.  The  next  day 
commence  at  the  beginning,  following  up  with  lesson  2,  mak- 
ing him  steady  at  each.  Before  proceeding  to  the  next  step, 
release  the  one  end  of  the  cord  from  the  peg,  take  it  in  your 
hand,  cry  "  down  ;"  if  he  goes  down,  well ;  if  not,  check  him, 
pat  him,  loose  the  end  of  cord  in  the  hand,  let  him  run 
about,  occasionally  crying  "down,"  sometimes  when  he  is 
close  at  hand,  at  other  times  further  off,  visiting  any  disobe- 
dience with  a  check,  until  he  will  drop  at  the  word  any- 
where immediately.  At  these  times  his  lesson  may  last  for 
an  hour  twice  a  day.  He  will  get  steady  vmore  quickly  and 
better. 

QUARTERING. 

His  next  step  is  to  learn  to  quarter  his  ground  thoroughly 
and  properly.  It  is  the  most  difficult  to  teach,  and  requires 
more  care  and  ability,  than  any  other  part  of  his  acquire- 
ments, on  the  part  of  the  preceptor.  For  this  purpose  select 
a  moderately  sized  field,  say  one  hundred  or  two  hundred 
yards  wide,  where  you  are  certain  there  is  no  game.  Cast  him 
off  at  the  word  "  hold  up"  to  the  right  or  left,  up  wind. 
This  is  essential,  to  prevent  their  turning  inwards,  and  so 
going  over  the  same  ground  twice.  (I  forgot  to  say  that  a 
cord  fifteen  feet  is  long  enough  now ;  it  does  not  impede  his 
ranging,  and  he  is  nearly  as  much  at  command  with  it  as 
with  one  twice  as  long.)  If  a  dog  is  inclined  to  this  fault  of 

turning  inwards,  you  must  get  before  him  up  wind,  and 

2* 


34  THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE    MECUM. 

whistle  him  just  before  he  turns.  This  will  in  the  end  break 
him  of  that  habit.  If  he  takes  too  much  ground  up  wind, 
call  "  down,"  and  start  him  off,  after  you  get  to  him,  in  the 
way  he  should  go.  You  ought  also  yourself  to  walk  on  a 
line  with  the  direction  the  dog  is  going.  This  will  accustom 
him  to  take  his  beat  right  through  to  the  fence,  and  not  in 
irregular  zigzags,  as  he  otherwise  would  do.  He  must  now  be 
kept  at  these  lessons  in  "  down,"  charging,  and  quartering,  till 
he  is  quite  perfect  and  confirmed,  setting  him  off  indiscrimi- 
nately to  the  right  or  left,  so  that  when  you  hunt  with  another, 
both  may  not  start  one  way.  Much  time  will  be  gained,  and 
the  dog  rendered  by  far  more  perfect  by  continuing  this 
practice  for  some  time.  It  is  far  better  to  render  him  au 
fait  at  his  work  by  slight  punishments,  frequently  repeated, 
and  by  that  means  more  strongly  impressed  on  his  memory, 
than  by  a  severe  cowhiding.  This  latter  process  is  apt  to 
make  him  cowed,  than  which  there  is  nothing  worse.  Many 
a  fine  dog  is  ruined  by  it.  The  punishment  of  the  check  is 
severe,  and,  as  I  said  before,  whilst  it  never  fails  to  daunt  the 
most  resolute,  so  also  it  can  be  so  administered  as  not  in 
the  end  to  cow  the  most  timid. 

Here  it  is  you  are  to  use  your  discretion  so  to  temper 
justice  and  mercy  that  you  cause  yourself  to  be  obeyed 
without  spoiling  your  creature.  For  full  a  month  this 
ought  daily  to  be  done,  if  fine.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  feed 
your  young  dogs  at  this  stage  all  together,  with  a  cord 
round  each  of  their  necks,  making  them  "down"  several 
times  between  the  trough  and  their  kennel.  Pat  one  dog, 
and  let  him  feed  awhile.  The  rest  being  "  down,"  call  him 


35 

back  and  make  him  "  down "  also,  checking  him  if  he  does 
not  instantly  obey.  Pat  another  now,  and  let  him  feed 
awhile,  and  so  on  all  through  one  day,  sending  one  first  then 
another.  They  learn  by  this  a  daily  lesson  of  obedience,  and 
also  to  let  another  dog  pass  them  when  at  point.  After 
your  dog  is  perfectly  steady,  take  him  out  as  before,  and 
when  he  has  run  off  what  is  termed  the  wire  edge,  intro- 
duce him  to  where  there  are  birds.  Set  him  off  up  wind, 
and  most  probably  he  will  spring  the  first  bird,  and  chase. 
Follow  him,  crying  "  down."  This,  in  the  first  ardor  of  the 
moment,  he  is  not  expected  to  do,  but  sooner  or  later  he  will. 
You  must  now  pull  him  back  to  where  he  sprung  the  birds. 
By  repeatedly  doing  this,  he  will  chase  less  and  less,  always 
pulling  him  back  to  where  the  bird  rises,  crying  "  down.n 
Gradually,  by  this,  he  will  learn  to  drop  at  the  rise  of  the 
bird,  and  ultimately  to  make  a  point ;  though  most  well  bred 
dogs  do  this  the  first  time.  When  they  do  so,  cry  "  down," 
very  slightly  checking  them  if  they  do  not.  Great  caution 
is  necessary  here  to  prevent  their  blinking.  It  is  always 
advisable  to  teach  all  young  dogs  to  "down"  when  they 
point.  When  once  down,  they  will  lie  there  as  long  as  you 
please,  and  are  less  likely  to  blink,  run  in,  chase.  You 
ought,  if  possible,  to  get  before  the  dog  when  you  cry 
"  down."  It  is  less  likely  also  to  make  him  blink. 

Every  dog,  old  or  young,  ought  to  be  broken  to  drop  when 
a  bird  rises,  not  at  the  report  of  the  gun.  It  renders  them 
far  more  steady.  A  young  clog  ought  to  be  hunted  alone 
till  he  is  perfectly  confirmed  in  these  points.  It  is  a  very 
absurd  idea  to  suppose  that  killing  birds  prevents  their 


36  THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE    MECUM. 

chasing,  quite  "  au  contraire."  Seeing  the  bird  fall  in  its 
flight  encourages  them  to  chase.  It  is  far  better  to  get  a 
bird  and  peg  it  down  so  as  to  flutter  and  run  about  before 
the  dog  when  he  is  "  down."  This  persisted  in  soon  brings 
them  steady.  The  other  plan  takes  a  much  longer  time  to 
accomplish.  A  young  dog  may  easily  be  taught  to  back. 
Make  one  dog  down,  and  then  cry  "  down  "  to  him,  checking 
him  if  he  does  not,  and  pulling  him  to  where  he  ought  to 
drop.  In  the  field,  after  a  time,  you  use  the  word  "  toho," 
at  which  also  he  drops  or  points.  A  young  dog  ought 
never  to  be  hunted  with  an  old  one.  The  latter  always  has 
tricks ;  in  fact,  is  cunning ;  and  at  that  age  a  bad  fault  is 
easily  learnt,  but  not  so  easily  forgotten.  This  is  Lloyd's 
art  of  breaking.  A  more  sensible  one  I  have  never  seen, 
nor  do  I  believe  is.  I  have  broken  many  dogs  on  it,  and 
never  saw  it  fail.  Patience,  practice,  and  temper  are  all  that 
is  required,  for  dogs  can  only  be  taught  by  lessons  frequently 
repeated.  When  first  you  shoot  over  a  young  dog,  an 
assistant  should  hold  the  end  of  the  long  line  to  check  him, 
should  he  attempt  to  run  in  when  the  bird  falls.  Lloyd  says 
further,  "  I  never  us«  a  whip  on  any  occasion  whatever." 
He  trusts  to  the  cord.  This  is  all  right  while  breaking  and 
finishing  off  a  dog,  but  after  that  one  cannot  be  expected  to 
lug  fifteen  feet  of  cord  in  one's  pocket,  though,  doubtless,  it 
is  very  true  that  it  is  more  efficacious  than  the  whip,  and 
does  not  make  them  so  apt  to  blink.  Some  will  sneak  away, 
and  are  not  easily  caught,  after  committing  a  fault,  and 
others  are  so  shy,  that  they  would  not  bear  a  lash,  and  yet 
are  readily  broken  with  the  cord.  By  this  means  also  dog* 


THE     &i'GRT|MANfS     VADE     MECUM.  37 

are  broken  to  fetch  a  soft  substance,  for  instance,  a  glove 
stuffed  with  wool  is  put  in  their  mouths,  checking  them  till 
they  hold  it,  calling  them  to  you,  checking  them  if  they 
drop  it.  By  degrees  you  get  them  not  only  to  hold  and 
bring,  but  also  to  fetch  it.  Practice  and  patience  only  are 
required.  Any  one  possessing  them,  and  with  but  a  slight 
knowledge  of  sporting  matters,  by  following  the  above  plain 
and  precise  rules,  may  break  his  own  dogs.  I  have  much 
pleasure  in  making  it  known  to  the  American  public. 
Where  the  article  is  taken  from  I  cannot  say.  I  got  it  a 
few  years  ago  in  manuscript,  and  Lloyd,  Sir  J.  Sebright's 
keeper,  is  the  author,  and  very  creditable  it  is  ,to  him.  The 
springer  is  broken  by  this  equally  well  with  the  pointer  or 
setter,  omitting  the  pointing  part ;  teaching,  however,  the 
quartering  and  "  down,"  in  the  open,  most  perfectly  and 
thoroughly  before  ever  he  goes  into  covert — till  steady  on 
birds,  dropping  the  moment  a  bird  rises  and  a  gun  is  fired — 
observing,  though,  to  teach  him  to  take  his  quarters  much 
closer  and  shorter.  The  cocker  ought  never  to  be  fifteen 
yards  from  the  shooter,  and  when  two  are  shooting,  should 
take  his  quarters  from  one  to  the  other,  turning  at  the 
whistle,  and  only  gaining  a  few  yards  each  turn.  For 
beagles,  kennel  discipline  is  of  more  avail  than  out-door 
teaching.  They  must  be  taught  to  come  and  go,  when 
called.  To  such  perfection  is  this  kennel  discipline  carried  in 
England,  that  I  have  seen  fifty  couples  of  hounds  waiting  in 
a  yard  to  be  fed  ;  the  door  open,  each  one  coming  when 
called  by  name  ;  leaving  his  food  when  ordered  "  to  bed  "  or 
"  kennel."  "  Dogs  come  over,"  all  the  dogs  coming  over 


88  THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE    MECUM. 

"  Bitches  corne  over,"  when  all  the  bitches  come.  To  do 
this  requires  time  and  patience.  Out  doors  they  are  taught 
to  follow  the  huntsman  to  cover,  receiving  a  hearty  cut  of 
the  whip  if  they  lag  or  loiter  by  the  way,  whipped  up  if 
they  neglect  to  come  to  the  pipe  of  the  horn,  if  they  run  to 
heel,  hang  too  long  on  the  scent,  follow  false  scent,  fox,  rab- 
bit, or  anything  else  thejjuifce  not  hunted  to.  With  them 
the  whip  is  used,  and  severely  too,  sometimes.  And  now  I 
have  done  with  the  training  of  dogs,  all  but  the  retriever. 
The  cord  will  apply  for  him,  though  in  addition  to  thjs  he 
must  be  taught  to  "  seek  lost "  in  any  direction  you  wave 
your  hand.  His  lessons,  however,  will  extend  over  a  far 
greater  length  of  time  than  the  others.  Age  only  increases 
his  abilities.  The  more  of  a  companion  you  make  of  him, 
the  more  tricks  in  seeking  lost  you  teach  him,  the  more 
valuable  he  becomes.  My  brother  has  one  that  can  be  sent 
miles  to  the  house  for  any  article  almost,  and  he  brings  it. 
Last  winter  he  sent  him  for  the  roast  before  the  fire,  and 
after  a  tussle  with  the  cook  it  came  sure  enough.  He  is 
one  of  the  most  knowing  dogs  I  ever  saw.  A  large  black 
fellow,  of  what  breed  I  know  not,  Newfoundland  and  setter 
though,  I  fancy.  Four  pounds  was  his  price.  He  is  well 
worth  five  times  four.  For  wounded  birds  he  is  invaluable,, 
and  has  only  one  fault ;  he  does  not  "  charge,"  which  all 
retrievers,  as  well  as  every  other  sporting  dog,  should  do ; 
else  while  you  are  loading,  and  they  rushing  about  like  mad, 
the  birds  get  up,  and  you  lose  a  chance,  from  either  not 
being  ready,  or  your  gun  being  empty.  Before  concluding, 
I  will  state  all  the  words  and  motions  requisite  to  teacb 


39 

your  pointers  and  setters.  "  Down,"  "  Hold  up,"  "  Toho." 
Holding  up  your  hand  open  means  "  down,"  or  "  Toho," 
where  another  dog  is  pointing.  A  whistle  solus  to  come  in 
a  to  heel" — that  word  for  them  to  get  Itehind  you  ;  a  whistle 
and  a  wave  of.  the  hand  to  the  right  for  them  to  quarter 
that  way ;  ditto  whistle  and  wave  to  the  left  to  quarter  to  the 
left.  Avoid  shouting  as  much  as  possible.  Nothing  is  more 
disgusting  than  to  be  bawling  all  the  time.  If  your  dog 
don't  heed  your  whistle,  get  him  to  heel  as  fast  and  as  quietly 
as  possible,  and  administer  a  little  strap,  whistling  to  them 
sharply  to  impress  it  on  their  mind.  Never  pass  by  a  single 
fault  without  either  rating  or  flogging.  Always  make  your 
dogs  point  a  dead  bird  before  retrieving  it;  and  nothing  is 
more  insane  than  to  loo  on  your  dogs,  after  a  wing-tipped 
bird.  Hunt  it  quietly  and  deliberately.  I  know  it  is  difficult 
to  restrain  yourself  sometimes.  How  much  more  difficult, 
then,  to  restrain  your  dogs.  Far  better  to  lose  a  bird,  a 
thing  I  detest  doing,  than  run  the  chance  of  spoiling  a  young 
dog.  Never  take  a  liberty  with  him,  however  you  may 
do  so  with  an  old  one,  though  even  he  can  and  will  be  made 
unsteady,  by  letting  him  chase  or  have  his  own  way.  One 
thing  leads  to  another.  I  thought  I  had  got  through,  but 
methinks  it  is  as  well  to  state  the  best  plan  to  find  a  dead 
bird  in  cover,  or  out  also,  for  that  matter.  Walk  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  where  you  fancy  the  bird  fell ;  there  stand,  nor 
move  a  step,  making  the  dogs  circle  round  you  till  they  find 
it.  Practise  them  at  this  as  much  as  any  other  part  of  their 
education,  calling  them  constantly  back  if  they  move  ofE 
Should  you  find  a  doa;  going  off,  notice  the  direction,  but  call 


40 

him  back.  If  he  should  still  return  there,  you  may  presume 
it  is  a  runner.  Let  him  try  to  puzzle  it  out,  while  you  keep 
the  other  dog  at  work  close  to  you.  By  this  plan  it  is  extra- 
ordinary what  few  birds  you  will  lose  in  a  season.  Always 
hunt  a  brace  of  dogs.  More  are  too  many  ;  one  is  just  one 
too  few.  It  is  too  pot-hunterish,  too  slow.  You  lose  half 
the  beauties  of  the  sport  seeing  your  dogs  quartering  their 
fields,  crossing  one  another  in  the  centre,  or  thereby,  without 
jealousy,  backing  one  another's  points — both  dropping  "  to 
shot "  as  if  shot.  You  get  over  twice  as  much  ground  in  a 
day.  This,  in  a  thinly  sprinkled  game  country,  is  something. 
Where  very  plentiful,  you  find  them  all  the  quicker. 

FEEDING. 

With  regard  to  the  feeding  of  dogs,  some  few  words  are 
necessary,  and  we  will  endeavor  to  point  out  the  best  way  to 
manage  them  properly,  and  with  a  due  regard  to  economy. 
Where  only  one  or  two  dogs  are  kept,  it  is  presumed  that 
the  refuse  of  the  house  is  ample  for  them.  It  will  keep  them 
in  good  order  and  condition  ;  but  where  more  are  kept,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  look  further  for  their  supplies.  We  will 
therefore  treat  them  as  one  would  a  kennel,  distinguishing 
town  from  country ;  for  in  the  one  what  would  be  extremely 
cheap,  in  the  other  would  be  dear.  For  ordinary  feeding, 
then,  in  town,  purchase  beef  heads,  sheep  ditto,  offal,  i.  e. 
feet,  bellies,  &c.,  which  clean.  Chop  them  up  and  boil  to  rags 
in  a  copper,  filling  up  your  copper  as  the  water  boils  away. 
You  may  add  to  this  a  little  salt,  cabbage,  parsnips,  potatoes, 
carrots,  turnips,  or  any  other  cheap  vegetable.  Put  this 


THE  SPORTSMAN'S  VADE  MECUM.       41 


soup  aside,  and  then  boil  old  Indian  meal  till  it  is  quite 
Let  it  also  get  cold.  Take  of  the  boiled  me'a'  as  much  as 
you  think  requisite,  adding  sufficient  of  the  broth  to  liquefy 
it.  This  is  the  cheapest  town  food.  In  the  country  during 
the  summer,  skimmed  milk,  sour  milk,  buttermilk,  or  whey, 
may  be  used  in  place  of  the  soup.  In  the  winter,  it  is  as 
well  to  give  soup  occasionally  for  a  change.  Never  use  new 
Indian  flour.  It  scours  the  dogs  dreadfully.  Old  does  not, 
The  plan  I  adopt  is,  to  buy  Indian  corn  this  year  for  use 
next,  store  it,  and  send  it  to  grind  as  I  require  it  ;  and  as  the 
millers  have  no  object  in  boning  the  old  meal,  returning  new 
for  it,  I  insure  by  this  means  no  illness  from  feeding  in  my 
kennel.  Although  Indian  corn  has  not  either  so  much 
albumen  or  saccharine  matter  in  it  as  oats,  it  does  tolerably 
well  with  broth  ;  but  when  the  greatest  amount  of  work  is 
required  in  a  certain  given  time  from  a  certain  quantity  of 
dogs,  as  in  a  week's,  fortnight's,  or  month's  shooting  -excur 
sion,  I  always  use  oatmeal,  for  two  reasons:  —  1st,  it  is  far 
more  nourishing  in  itself,  a  less  bulk  of  it  going  further  than 
corn  meal  :  —  2nd,  you  cannot  depend  on  getting  old 
meal  in  the  country,  nor  yet  meat  always  to  make  soup.  The 
dogs  fed  on  oatmeal  porridge  and  milk,  which  you  always 
can  get,  do  a  vast  deal  of  work,  and  have  good  scenting 
powers.  Using  these  different  articles,  I  calculate  each  dog 
to  cost  me  one  shilling  York  currency  per  week,  and  I  pay 
fifty  cents  per  bushel  for  Indian  corn,  six  dollars  per  barrel 
for  oatmeal  (old),  one  York  shilling  for  beef  head,  milk  three 
cents  per  quart  for  new,  probably,  one  and  a  half  for  skim. 
la  a  house  there  are  always  bones,  potatoe  peelings,  and  pot 


42       THE  SPORTSMAN'S  VADE  MECUM. 

liquor.  By  cleaning  the  potatoes  before  peeling,  and  popping 
ail  into  the  dog  pot,  a  considerable  saving  is  effected  in  a 
year,  and  the  dogs  are  benefited  thereby.  Mangel  Wurtzel 
and  Rut  a  Bagas,  I  believe  they  call  them  this  side  the  water, 
are  easily  grown,  and  are  good  food,  boiled  up  with  soup. 


CONDITION. 


This  brings  me  on  to  what  is  termed  "  condition,"  in  other 
words,  that  form  of  body  best  adapted  to  undergo  long  and 
continued  exertion.  It  is  equally  certain  that  a  dog  too  fat, 
as  well  as  one  all  skin  and  bone,  is  not  in  this  state.  These 
are  the  two  forms  from  which  different  people  start  to  bring 
their  animals  to  the  mark.  Of  the  two,  I  certainly  prefer 
the  fat  one.  During  the  summer  time,  dogs  should  have 
plenty  of  air,  water,  and  exercise.  This  is  easily  managed  by 
taking  them  out  whenever  you  go  walking  or  riding,  or 
jetting  them  be  loose  all  day,  kennelling  at  night,  and  when 
this  is  done,  by  a  mild  dose  of  physic  a  fortnight  before  the 
season,  and  additional  exercise  along  a  hard  road  to  harden 
their  feet,  say  two  or  three  hours  daily,  you  have  your  dogs 
in  fair  working  order.  When  you  have  a  dog  too  fat,  you 
must  purge  him,  and  put  him  through  a  course  of  long  but 
slow  exercise  at  first,  quickening  by  degrees,  till  you  work 
off  the  fat,  and  leave  substance  and  muscle  in  its  place. 
With  a  lean  dog  you  have  a  far  harder  job  to  manage,  and 
one  which  takes  a  long  time  to  accomplish.  A  mild  dose  to 
put  him  in  form  first,  then  the  best,  strongest,  and  most 
nutritious  food  you  can  get.  Oatmeal  and  strong  broth, 
gentle  and  slow  exercise,  this  is  the  plan  to  put  beef  ;n  his 


43 


bones  without  fat.  As  he  grows  in  substance,  increase  and 
quicken  his  work.  Any  person  living  in  the  country  does  or 
ought  to  take  his  dogs  out  when  he  rides  or  drives.  The 
pace  is  fast  and  severe  enough  for  them,  and  generally  lasts 
sufficiently  long.  My  dogs  are  exercised  this  way  every  time 
the  horses  go  out,  and  are  kept  in  fine  order,  if  anything  too 
fine,  perhaps  ;  but,  then,  what  there  is,  is  all  muscle  and  hard 
flesh.  During  the  shooting  season,  always  feed  your  dogs 
with  warm  meals.  Three  o'clock  is  the  best  time  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  and  a  separate  mess  kept  warm  for  your 
brace  at  work,  when  they  return.  Nothing  conduces  more  to 
the  keeping  your  dogs  in  condition  than  regular  feeding 
hours  and  regular  work.  One  meal  a  day  is  sufficient. 
Three  o'clock  is  the  best  hour,  as  the  dogs  have  tolerably 
emptied  themselves  by  the  next  morning.  I  omitted  to 
mention  in  the  proper  place  to  accustom  your  pups  to  the 
same  food  as  when  kennelled  they  will  get.  For  this  pur- 
pose, as  soon  as  they  feed  well,  give  them  regular  kennel 
food,  except  that  they  must  have  three  feeds  a  day  for  some 
six  months,  and  after  that  two,  till  they  are  full  grown.  Use 
as  little  medicine  as  possible.  Always  feed  your  worked 
dogs  immediately  they  get  home.  If  you  wait  awhile,  and 
they  are  tired,  they  curl  themselves  up,  get  stiff,  and  don't 
feed  properly  ;  and  if  they  so  refuse  their  food,  and  are  by 
any  accident  to  be  out  next  day,  they  will  not  be  up  to  the 
work.  No  dogs,  however,  can  stand  daily  work  properly  for 
more  than  three  days,  and  even  that  is  more  than  enough 
tor  them,  but  they  will  stand  every  second  day,  if  well 
attended  to,  for  a  considerable  time.  Always  see  your  dogs 


44 

fed  yourself.  No  servant  will  do  it  as  it  should  be 
Ten  minutes  or  a  quarter  of  an  hour  devoted  to  this  as  soon 
as  you  return  from  the  field,  will  be  more  than  repaid  when 
next  you  use  them.  If  you  ride,  or  rather  drive  to  your 
ground,  as  is  best  to  do  when  more  than  a  mile  away,  ride 
your  dogs  also  ;  ditto  as  you  return.  Every  little  helps,  and 
this  short  ride  wonderfully  saves  your  animals.  I  invariably 
do  this.  But  when  I  drive,  say  twenty  miles  or  so,  to  a 
shooting  station,  I  generally  run  one  brace  or  so  the  whole 
way,  and  the  other  brace  perhaps  ten  miles,  taking  out  next 
day  that  brace  which  only  ran  the  short  distance.  Always  on 
a  trip  of  this  kind  take  a  bag  of  meal  with  you  also.  You 
are  then  safe.  The  neglect  of  this  precaution  in  one  or  two 
instances  has  obliged  me  to  use  boiled  be^f  alone,  to  the 
rery  great  detriment  of  the  olfactory  senses  of  my  dogs. 
Their  noses,  on  this  kind  of  food,  completely  fail  them. 
Greasy  substances  also  are  objectionable  for  the  same  cause, 
unless  very  well  incorporated  with  meal.  For  this  reason  I 
object  to  "tallow  scrap"  or  chandlers'  graves;  but  this  I 
sometimes  use  in  summer.  Regular  work,  correct  feeding, 
and  regular  hours,  that  is  the  great  secret  of  one  man's  dogs 
standing  harder  work  than  others.  A  little  attention  to  the 
subject  will  enable  any  one  to  keep  his  animals  pretty  near 
the  mark.  Amongst  the  receipts  will  be  found  one  used  in 
England  for  feeding  greyhounds  when  in  training,  if  any  one 
likes  to  go  to  the  expense  of  it. 

KENNEL. 

This  treatise  would  not  be  complete  without  making  soniy 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM.  45 

remarks  on  that  very  essential  thing,  the  kennel.  Where 
only  a  brace  of  dogs  are  kept,  the  common  movable  box 
kennel  is  sufficient.  This  should  be  large  enough  to  hold 
the  two  comfortably,  with  a  sharp  pitch  to  the  roof  and 
projecting  front ;  but  I  should  recommend  one  for  each  dog 
slightly  raised  from  the  ground,  sufficiently  high  for  the  dog 
to  stand  up  in,  and  wide  enough  for  him  to  turn  round  in. 
The  entrance  had  better  be  boarded  up,  except  a  hole  for 
him  to  enter  and  get  out  by.  But  where  a  large  number  of 
dogs  are  kept,  this  plan  of  separate  houses  is  expensive,  and 
in  their  place  I  would  recommend  a  brick  building  sixteen 
feet  long  by  five  feet  wide  and  six  feet  high,  or,  if  brick  be 
not  get-at-able,  a  boarded  house  will  do ;  but  it  ought  to  be 
lined  and  boarded  outside,  the  space  between  the  two  filled 
up  with  sawdust,  and  weather-boarded.  Besides,  this  sixteen 
feet  must  be  divided  into  three  compartments  right  up  to 
the  top,  one  eight  feet  for  the  dogs,  one  five  for  the  bitches, 
and  one  three  feet  for  the  worked  dogs.  The  doors  should 
be  large  enough  to  admit  a  man  to  clean.  The  beds  ought 
to  be  raised  on  a  bench  from  the  floor,  this  bench  movable 
on  hinges  at  the  back,  so  that  it  can  be  hoisted  up,  and 
cleaning  done  below.  The  dogs  ought  to  be  prevented 
getting  under  their  beds,  by  a  board  reaching  from  the  out- 
side edge  of  the  bench  to  the  floor.  Six  or  eight  inches  is 
sufficient  raise.  The  floor  of  this  kennel  should  slope  out- 
wards, to  carry  off  wet.  The  door  should  have  a  small  hole 
in  it,  with  a  swing  door,  so  that  by  pushing  against  it,  the 
dogs  can  get  either  in  or  out.  In  front  of  these  two,  that  is 
to  say,  the  dog  and  bitch  departments,  a  court-yard,  either 


paved  or  flagged,  both  preferable  to  brick,  since  they  dr*> 
quicker,  and  consequently  there  is  less  fear  of  kennel  lame- 
ness, caused  by  paddling  on  a  damp  floor.  These  courts 
ought  to  run  out  at  least  ten  or  fifteen  feet  to  the  front,  and 
of  course  the  partition  kept  up  between  the  two.  This  out- 
side court  may  be  palisaded,  but  it  should  be  at  least  ten 
feet  high,  else  the  dogs  are  liable  to  break  kennel ;  and  the 
front  of  the  house  also  at  the  top  should  be  fortified,  to 
prevent  their  eloping  that  way.  If  possible,  a  stream  of 
running  water  should  be  conducted  through  the  yards ;  it 
aids  its  daily  washing,  as  well  as  enabling  the  dogs  to  get 
as  much  pure  water  as  they  choose.  When  this  cannot  bo 
had,  a  trough  must  be  daily  filled  for  their  use.  Clean 
wheat  straw,  removed  twice  a  week,  or  shavings  of  pine  or 
cedar  when  to  be  had  are  better,  must  be  used  for  their  beds. 
Always  feed  your  dogs  together  in  a  V  shaped  trough, 
raised  slightly  from  the  ground,  taking  care  to  restrain  the 
greedy  and  encourage  the  shy  feeders.  In  a  building  of  this 
sort,  they  will  be  perfectly  warm  and  comfortable.  Every 
portion  of  it  must  be  daily  cleaned  out,  and  the  rubbish 
carried  away.  Twice  a  year  it  should  be  whitewashed  inside 
and  out,  and  fumigated  with  sulphur,  tobacco,  &c.  This 
considerably  helps  to  destroy  vermin.  Nothing  conduces 
more  to  disease  than  a  filthy  kennel,  nothing  vitiates  a  dog's 
nose  more  than  foetid  smells.  In  the  rear  of  this  kennel 
should  be  your  boiling  house,  if  your  establishment  requires 
one.  All  that  is  required  is  a  copper,  set  in  brick,  with  a 
chimney,  to  boil  mush  and  meat  in,  a  barrel  to  hold  soup, 
arid  a  ledge  or  tray,  three  or  four  inches  deep,  to  pour  the 


THE   SPORTSMAN'S   VADE  MECUM.  47 

mush  in  to  cool  and  set ;  a  chopping  block,  knite,  ladle, 
with  long  wooden  handle,  to  stir  and  empty  the  copper 
with,  a  few  hooks  to  hang  flesh  on,  when  you  use  horse- 
flesh, &c.,  in  place  of  heads — equally  good,  by  the  way, 
when  you  can  get  it — shovel,  broom,  and  buckets.  I 
believe  all  in  this  department  is  now  complete  and  requisite, 
when  you  keep  six  or  more  dogs.  The  spare  place  is  good 
for  breeding  bitches,  when  you  do  not  require  it  for  your 
tired  dogs,  as  also  for  sick  ones.  In  fact,  you  cannot  well  do 
without  it. 

And  now  methinks  I  may  safely  add  a  few  words  on 
guns.  This,  of  course,  especially  to  the  rising  generation. 
I  need  not  tell  you  not  to  put  the  shot  all  in  one  barrel  and 
the  powder  in  the  other,  though  I  have  frequently  seen  it 
done,  aye,  and  done  it  myself,  when  in  a  mooning  fit ;  but  I 
will  say,  never  carry  your  gun  at  full  cock  or  with  the  ham- 
mers down,  than  which  last  there  cannot  be  anything  more 
dangerous.  The  slightest  pull  upon  the  cock  is  sufficient  to 
cause  it  to  fall  so  smartly  on  the  cone  or  nipple  as  to  explode 
the  cap.  Positively,  I  would  not  shoot  a  day,  no,  nor  an 
hour,  with  a  man  that  so  carried  his  gun.  At  half  cock 
there  is  no  danger.  By  pulling  ever  so  hard  at  the  trigger, 
you  cannot  get  it  off;  and  if  you  raise  the  cock  ever  so 
little,  it  falls  back  to  half  cock,  or,  at  the  worst,  catches  at  full 
cock.  Never  overcharge  your  gun.  Two  to  two  and  a  half 
drachms  of  powder,  and  one  ounce  to  one  and  a  quarter  of  shot, 
is  about  the  load.  For  summer  shooting,  still  less.  Never 
take  out  a  dirty  gun,  not  even  if  only  once  fired  out  of,  even 
if  you  have  to  clean  it  yourself.  After  cleaning  with  soap. 


48  THE    SPORTSMAN'S  VADE    MECUM. 

rubbed  on  the  tow  in  warm,  or  better,  cold  water,  without 
the  soap,  if  not  over  dirty,  remove  the  tow,  put  on  clean,  and 
pump  out  remaining  dirt  in  clean  warm  water,  rinsing  out 
the  third  time  in  other  clean  warm  water.  Invert  the  bar- 
rels, muzzle  downwards,  while  you  refix  your  dry  tow  on  the 
rod.  Work  them  out  successively  with  several  changes  of 
tow,  till  they  burn  again.  Drop  a  few  drops  of  animal  oil — 
refined  by  putting  shot  into  the  bottle ;  neat's  foot  oil  is  best 
for  this — on  to  the  tow,  and  rub  out  the  inside  of  barrels 
with  it  well.  Wipe  the  outside  with  oil  rag,  cleaning  around 
the  nipples  with  a  hard  brush  and  a  stick  ;  ditto  hammers 
and  the  steel  furniture;  Use  boiled  oil  to  rub  off  the  stock, 
but  it  must  be  well  rubbed  in.  Before  using  next  day,  rub 
over  every  part  with  a  clean  dry  rag.  Nothing  is  more 
disgusting  than  an  oily  gun,  and  yet  nothing  is  more  requi- 
site than  to  keep  it  so  when  out  of  use.  In  receipts  you 
will  find  a  composition  to  prevent  water  penetrating  to  the 
locks,  which  ought  to  be  as  seldom  removed  as  possible.  I 
shall  not  tell  you  how  to  do  this,  for  if  you  do  know  the 
how,  where  is  the  necessity,  and  if  you  don't,  in  all  proba- 
bility you  would  break  a  scear  or  mainspring  in  the  attempt, 
as  I  did,  when  first  I  essayed,  and  after  that  had  to  get  the 
gamekeeper  to  put  it  together.  So  your  best  plan  in  this 
latter  case  is  to  watch  the  method  for  a  time  or  two,  when 
you  will  know  as  much  of  the  matter  as  I  do. 

The  finest  barrels  are  rusted  the  most  easily,  and  suffer 
the  more  detriment  by  rusting.  Of  course  the  fouler  the 
gun  the  greater  the  evil  that  arises  from  its  bejng  left  foul. 
In  hot  weather,  barrels  suffer  infinitely  more  than  in  cold; 


THE  SPORTSMAN'S  VADE  MECUM.  49 

and  in  wet,  than  in  dry.  When  dampness  and  heat  are 
combined,  the  mischief  is  yet  augmented;  and,  probably, 
the  worst  conditions  that  can  be  supposed  are  when,  to 
dampness  and  heat,  a  salt  atmosphere  is  superadded. 

No  man  who  owns  a  fine  gun,  which  he  values,  ought  ever 
to  put  it  aside  after  use  without  cleaning,  even  if  he  have 
fired  but  a  single  shot.  Again,  every  man  who  loves  his 
gun,  should  make  it  a  point  to  clean  it  with  his  own  hands. 
It  may  do  in  Europe,  where  one  has  a  game-keeper  at  his 
elbow  who  knows  how  to  clean  a  gun  better  than  he  does 
himself,  and  who  takes  as  much  pride  in  having  it  clean  as 
he.  Use  strong  and  clean  shooting  powders.  Don't  use 
too  large,  nor  yet  too  small  shot.  Six,  seven,  and  eight  are 
about  your  mark  for  ordinary  work ;  for  duck,  from  common 
gun,  number  four.  Never  leave  your  dog  whip  at  home  : 
you  always  want  it  most  on  those  occasions.  A  gun  thirty- 
one  inch  barrel,  fourteen  gauge,  and  eight  pounds  weight,  is 
as  useful  an  article  as  you  can  have.  Never  poke  at  a  bird, 
that  is,  try  to  see  him  along  the  barrels.  If  you  do,  you 
never  can  be  a  good  or  a  quick  shot.  Fix  your  eye  or  eyes 
on  the  bird,  lift  up  your  gun,  and  fire  the  moment  it  touches 
your  shoulder.  Practise  this  a  little,  and  believe  me  you 
will  give  the  pokers  the  go  by  in  a  short  time.  It  is  the 
only  way  to  be  a  sharp  shot.  And  now  I  will  have  done, 
trusting  I  have  not  wasted  your  time  in  reading  so  far  to  no 
purpose. 

CREDIT    GIVEN    FOR    RECEIPTS. 

In  the  following  receipts  you  will   find  those  of  Elaine 

Youatt,  My  res,  Herbert,  and  several  other  people,  but  as  1 
3 


50  THE    SPORTSMAN'S    VADE   MECUM. 

really  don't  know  to  whom  the  credit  is  due  for  each 
individual  one,  I  trust  to  be  forgiven.  This  much,  however, 
I  can  say,  there  are  not  more  than  one  or  two  of  my  own. 
I  have  tried  most,  if  not  all,  and  found  them  good.  Some 
are  not  quite  as  in  the  original,  having  been  amended  by  a. 
sporting  medical  man,  a  friend "  of  mine,  to  suit  the  new 
fashion  of  preparing  medicines. 

RECEIPTS. 

We  will  commence  these  by  directions  to  give  a  dog 
physic.  If  he  is  not  over  large,  you  can  manage  by  your 
self.  Invert  a  bucket,  and  sit  on  it.  Set  the  dog  down  on 
his  haunches  between  your  legs,  holding  him  up  with  your 
knees.  Tie  a  cloth  round  his  neck  ;  this  falling  over  his 
fore-paws  is  pressed  against  his  ribs  by  your  knees.  His 
fore-legs  by  this  dodge  are  hors  du  combat.  With  the  finger 
and  thumb  of  one  hand  force  open  his  jaws,  elevating  his 
head  at  the  same  time  with  the  same  hand.  If  a  bolus, 
with  the  other  hand  pass  it  over  the  root  of  the  tongue,  and 
give  it  a  sharp  poke  downwards.  Close  the  mouth,  still 
holding  up  the  head,  till  you  see  it  swallowed.  If  a  draught, 
give  a  mouthful,  close  the  mouth,  hold  up  the  head,  and 
stop  the  nostrils.  Repeat  this,  if  the  draught  is  too  large  to 
be  taken  at  once.  If  the  dog  is  very  large,  you  must  have 
,  an  assistant,  else  in  his  struggles  he  will  upset  physic  and 
yourself  into  the  bargain. 

GENERAL    REMARKS    ABOUT    DOGS   IN    PHYSIC. 

Keep    them    dry   and   warm,   especially   when    you   use 
calomel  or  any  mercurial  preparation.     Always  remove  them 


THE  SPORTSMAN'S  VADE  MECUM.        51 

from  the  kennel,  and  put  them  into  an  hospital  apart  from 
the  rest,  to  prevent  infection,  as  well  as  to  insure  the  poor, 
brutes  quietness.  Study  the  appearance  of  the  eyes,  feet, 
nose,  extremities,  pulse,  &c. 

To  make  a,  bitch  inclined  to  copulate. — Seven  drops  Tinc- 
ture of  Cantharides  twice  a  day  till  effect  is  produced — about 
six  days,  probably. 

Mange. — Caused  by  dirty  kennels,  neglect,  want  of 
nourishing,  or  improper,  food.  Cure — 1  oz.  salts,  if  dog  of 
moderate  size.  Rub  every  third  day  well  into  the  skin 
quantum  suf.  of  the  following  mixture : — 

Train  oil — tanner's  will  do — one  quart ;  spirits  turpentine 
one  large  wineglass  full ;  sulphur  sufficient  to  let  it  just  run 
off  a  stick.  Mix  well.  Three  applications  are  generally 
sufficient.  Let  it  stay  en  the  animal  for  a  fortnight,  when 
wash  well  with  soap  and  water.  Remember,  it  takes  nearly 
two  hours  to  well  scrub  the  above  into  the  skin.  Smearing 
over  the  hair  is  no  use.  It  must  get  well  into  the  skin ;  and 
if  neatly  and  properly  done,  the  dog  scarcely  shows  the 
application. 

Worms. —  $  Cowhage,  half  a  drachm  ;  tin  filings,  very 
fine,  four  drachms.  Make  into  four  or  six  balls,  accord- 
ing to  size  of  dog.  One  daily,  and  a  few  hours  afterwards  a 
purge  of  salts  or  aloes.  Powdered  glass,  as  much  as  will  lie 
on  a  shilling,  i.  e.  a  quarter  dollar,  new  coin,  in  lard. 
Repeat  once  or  twice  alternate  days.  Finish  off  with  one  to 
two  drachms  Socotrine  Aloes,  rolled  up  in  tissue  paper. 
Mind,  the  glass  must  be  ground  into  the  finest  kind  of  pow- 
der, else  it  will  injure  the  coats  of  the  stomach. 


52  THE    SPORTSMAN'S    VADE    MECUM. 

To  make  a  dog  fine  in  his  coat. — A  tablespoonful  of  tar 
in  oatmeal.     Make  bolus. 

Distemper. — Distemper  is  caused  by  low  keep,  neglect, 
and  changes  of  atmosphere.  Symptoms  of  the  disease  are 
as  follows  : — Loss  of  spirit,  activity,  and  appetite,  drowsiness) 
dulness  of  the  eyes,  lying  at  length  with  nose  to  the 
ground,  coldness  of  extremities,  legs,  ears,  and  lips,  heat  in 
head  and  body,  running  at  the  nose  and  eyes,  accompanied  by 
sneezing,  emaciation,  and  weakness,  dragging  of  hinder  quar- 
ters, flanks  drawn  in,  diarrhoea,  sometimes  vomiting.  There 
are  several  receipts  for  this,  the  worst  and  most  fatal  of  all 
diseases.  One  is  better  than  another,  according  to  the 
various  stages.  This  first,  if  commenced  at  an  early  stage, 
seldom  fails.  Half  an  ounce  of  salts  in  warm  water,  when 
the  dog  is  first  taken  ill;  thirty-six  hours  afterwards,  ten 
grains  compound  Powder  of  Ipecacuanha  in  warm  water.  If 
in  two  days  he  is  no  better,  take  sixteen  grains  Antimonial 
Powder,  made  into  four  boluses ;  one  night  and  morning  for 
two  days.  If  no  improvement  visible,  continue  these  pills, 
unless  diarrhoea  comes  on,  in  which  case  you  must  use  the 
ipecacuanha  day  about  with  the  pills.  If  the  animal  is  much 
weakened  by  this,  give  him  one  teaspoonful  Huxam's  Tinc- 
ture of  Bark  three  times  a  day.  Keep  warm,  and  feed  on 
rich  broth.  James's  Powder  is  also  almost  a  certain  remedy 
Dose  four  grains  ;  or  Antimonial  Powder  and  Calomel,  three 
parts  of  first  to  one  of  latter,  from  eight  to  fifteen  grains ;  or, 
after  the  salts,  Ant.  Powder,  two,  three,  or  four  grains,  Nitrate 
Potash,  five,  ten,  or  fifteen  grains ;  Ipecacuanha,  two,  three, 
or  four.  Make  into  ball,  and  g>T£  twice  or  three  times  a 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S    VADE    MECUM.  53 

day,  according  to  appearances.  Repeat  the  purge  or  emetics 
every  fourth  day,  but  avoid  too  great  looseness  of  bowels. 
Diarrhoea  sometimes  supervenes,  in  which  case  give  Com- 
pound Powder  of  Chalk,  with  Opium,  ten  grains.  In  case  of 
fits  coming  on,  destroy  the  animal.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  paralysis.  If  this  disease  is  taken  in  its  early  stage,  and 
attended  to,  and  the  dog  kept  warm,  there  is  not  much  dan- 
ger. Otherwise  it  is  very  fatal. 

Wounds. — Poultice  for  a  day  or  two ;  then  apply  Friar's 
Balsam,  covering  up  the  place. 

For  a  Green  Wound. — Hog's  lard,  turpentine,  bees'  wax, 
equal  parts ;  verdigris,  one  fourth  part.  Simmer  over  a  slow 
fire  till  they  are  well  mixed. 

Purgative  Medicines. — Salts,  one  ounce ;  Calomel,  five 
grains ;  or  Socotrine  Aloes,  two  drachms  for  moderate  sized 
dog. 

Stripping  Feet. — Wash  in  bran  and  warm  water,  with  a 
little  vinegar  ;  after  apply  Tincture  of  Myrrh.  Apply  sweet 
oil  before  he  goes  out.  If  his  feet  are  tender,  wash  them  in 
brine,  to  harden  them.  When  actually  sore,  buttermilk, 
greasy  pot  liquor,  or  water  gruel,  are  best.  Brine  inflames. 
The  dog  should  be  kept  at  home  till  feet  are  healed.  Then 
apply  the  brine  and  vinegar. 

Canker  in  the  Ear. — Wash  well  with  soap  and  warm 
water;  fill  up  the  ear  with  finely  powdered  charcoal  or 
powdered  borax.  Clean  out  daily  with  sponge  on  stick  and 
warm  water,  and  repeat  the  dusting  till  it  heals.  Or,  per 
haps,  the  best  receipt  is, — clean  out  ear  with  sponge  fastened 
on  a  pliable  stick,  using  warm  soap  and  water.  When  quite 


54  THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM. 

clean,  dip  the  sponge  in  Sulphate  of  Copper-water,  turning  it 
gently  round.  Put  setoii  in  the  neck  just  under  the  ear. 

Oak  Bark,  one  pound,  chopped  fine,  and  well  boiled  in  soft 
water.  When  cold,  take  of  the  Decoction  of  Bark  four 
ounces,  Sugar  of  Lead,  half  a  drachm.  Put  a  teaspoonful 
into  the  ear  night  and  morning,  rubbing  the  root  of  ear  well, 
to  cause  it  to  get  well  into  the  cavities.  This  is  one  of  the 
best  receipts  in  this  book. 

To  make  Sulphate  of  Copper  Water. — Sulphate  of  Cop- 
per half  a  drachm,  water  one  ounce.  Mix  well  and  keep 
corked. 

External  Canker  of  Ear. — Butter  of  Antimony,  diluted 
in  milk  to  the  thickness  of  cream,  will  cure  it ;  or  Red  Pre- 
cipitate of  Mercury,  half  an  ounce,  with  two  ounces  of  hog's 
lard,  mixed  well. 

To  malce  a  Seton. — Take  a  dozen  or  two  strands  of  a 
horse's  tail ;  plait  them  ;  rub  blistering  ointment  on  them. 
Pass  it  through  two  or  three  inches  of  the  skin  with  a  curved 
surgical  needle.  Tie  the  two  ends  together.  Move  daily. 

Bleeding. — You  may  readily  bleed  a  dog  in  the  jugular 
vein  by  holding  up  his  head,  stopping  the  circulation  at  the 
base  of  the  neck.  Part  the  hair,  and  with  the  lancet  make 
an  incision,  taking  care  not  to  stick  him  too  deeply.  If  the 
animal  rejoices  in  a  heavy  coat,  it  may  be  necessary  to  shave 
away  the  hair.  From  one  to  eight  ounces  are  the  quanti- 
ties ;  but  in  this,  as  in  most  prescriptions,  the  old  proverb  is 
the  safest — "  Keep  between  the  banks." 

For  a  Strain. — Use  Bertine's  Liniment ;  or  one  ounce 
Turpentine,  half  a  pint  of  old  beer,  half  a  pint  of  brine ; 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE    MECUM.  55 

bathe  the  part  and  repeat ;  or  Sal  Ammonia,  one  ounce, 
vinegar  one  pint. 

Bruises  or  Strains  of  long  standing. — Gall,  Opodeldoc, 
excellent.  Shaved  Camphor  two  ounces,  Spirits  of  Wine 
three  quarters  of  a  pint.  Shake  well,  and  cork  close,  placing 
it  near  the  fire  till  the  camphor  dissolves.  Then  add  a 
bullock's  gall.  Shake  well  together.  Apply,  rubbing  it  well 
into  the  part  affected  till  it  lathers. 

Dog  Poisoned. — Give  teacupful  of  castor  oil.  After  he 
has  vomited  well,  continue  to  pour  olive  oil  down  his  throat 
and  rub  his  belly. 

Staggers  and  Fits. — This  generally  happens  in  warm 
weather.  Throw  water  on  them,  if  convenient.  If  not, 
bleed  in  neck,  if  you  have  lancets.  If  not,  with  your  knife 
slit  the  ears,  which  you  can  cause  to  adhere  together  again  ; 
or  run  your  knife  across  two  or  three  bars  next  the  teeth. 
Bitches  coming  off  heat  are  more  subject  to  this  than  dogs 
in  good  health. 

To  reduce  the  time  a  bitch  is  in  heat. — Give  her  a  little 
Nitre  in  water,  and  a  dose  of  Calomel,  four  grains  or  there- 
abouts, followed  by  salts  or  aloes. 

Bilious  Fever — Is  caused  by  want  of  exercise  and  too  high 
feeding.  Calomel,  six  or  eight  grains ;  or,  in  an  obstinate 
case,  Turpeth  Mineral  or  Yellow  Mercury,  six  to  twelve  grains 
in  a  bolus. 

To  destroy  Lice. — Sometimes  the  receipt  below  for  fleas 
will  prove  efficacious,  but  not  always ;  but  a  small  quantity 
of  Mercurial  Ointment,  reduced  by  adding  hog's  lard  to  it, 
say  an  equal  quantity,  rubbed  along  the  top  of  the  dog's 


56  THE   SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MBCUM. 

back  never  fails.  The  greatest  care  must,  be  taken  to  keep 
the  animal  warm. 

Fleas. — Scotch  snuff  steeped  in  gin  is  infallible  ;  but  must 
be  used  with  great  care,  and  not  above  a  teaspoonful  of  snuff 
to  a  pint  of  gin, — as  the  cure,  if  overdone,  is  a  deadly  poison. 

Torn  Ears. — Laudanum  and  brandy,  equal  parts.  Mix 
well.  Apply  alternately  with  sweet  oil. 

Feed  for  Greyhounds  in  training. — Wheat  flour  and  oat- 
meal, old,  equal  parts.  Liquorice,  aniseed,  and  white  of 
eggs.  Make  into  a  paste.  Make  loaves.  Bake  them.  Break 
up  into  very  rich  broth. 

Swelled  Teats. — Make  pomade  of  Camphorated  Spirit,  or 
brandy,  and  goose  grease,  two  or  three  times  a  day. 

Inflammation  of  the  Bowels. — Symptoms :  Dulness  of 
appearance  and  eyes  ;  loss  of  appetite ;  lying  on  the  belly, 
with  outstretched  legs ;  pulse  much  quickened ;  scratching 
up  of  the  bed  into  a  heap,  and  pressing  the  belly  on  it ;  desire 
to  swallow  stones,  coal,  or  any  cold  substance  not  voidable ; 
inclination  to  hide  away.  It  is  very  dangerous;  requires 
active  treatment.  Bleed  most  freely,  till  the  dog  faints  away. 
Clap  a  blister  on  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  Give  Aloes,  fifteen 
grains,  and  Opium,  half  a  grain.  Repeat  dose  three  times  a 
day.  Bleed  after  twelve  hours,  if  pulse  rises  again,  and  con- 
tinue dosing  and  bleeding  till  either  the  dog  or  inflammation 
gives  in.  No  half  measures  do  in  this  disease.  After 
determining  that  it  is  inflammation  of  bowels,  set  to  work  to 
get  the  upper  hand.  When  that  is  done,  there  is  no  trouble, 
Otherwise  it  is  fatal.  Feed  low,  and  attend  cafrefully  to 
prevent  relapse. 

Films  over  the  Eyes. — Blue  stone  or  Lunar  Caustic.  <iight 


THE     SPORTSMAN  S     VADE     MECUM.  5*7 

grains,  spring  water,  one  ounce.  "Wash  the  eyes  with  it, 
letting  a  little  pass  in.  Repeat  this  daily,  and  you  will  soon 
cure  it. 

Films  caused  by  Thorn  Wounds. — Rest  the  dog  till  per- 
fectly headed  over,  washing  with  rose  water.  If  much 
inflammation,  bleed,  and  foment  with  hot  water,  with  a  few 
drops  of  laudanum  in  it — about  forty  drops  of  laudanum  to 
one  ounce  of  water  ;  or  two  grains  of  opium  to  one  ounce  of 
water — one  as  good  as  the  other.  Then  apply  four  or  five 
times  a  day  the  following  wash  : — Superacetate  of  Lead,  half 
a  drachm,  Rose  Water,  six  ounces. 

To  extract  Thorns. — Cobbler's  wax  bound  on  to  the  place, 
or  black  pitch  plaster  or  a  poultice,  are  equally  good. 

To  preserve  Gun  Barrels  from  rust  of  salt  water. — 
Black  lead,  three  ounces ;  hog's  lard,  eight  ounces ;  camphor, 
quarter  ounce ;  boiled  together  over  a  slow  fire ;  the  barrels 
to  be  rubbed  with  this  mixture,  which  after  three  days  must 
be  wiped  off  clean.  This  need  not  be  repeated  above  twice 
in  the  winter. 

Bite  of  a  Snake. — Olive  oil,  well  rubbed  in  before  a  fire, 
and  a  copious  drench  of  it  also. 

To  render  Boots  or  Shoes  Water-proof. — Beef  suet,  quarter 
of  a  pound ;  bees'  wax,  half  a  poutid ;  rosin,  quarter  of  a 
pound.  Stir  well  together  over  a  slow  fire.  Melt  the  mix- 
ture, and  rub  well  into  the  articles  daily  with  a  hard  brush 
before  the  fire. 

To  Soften  Boots. — Use  hog's  lard,  half  a  pound ;  mutton 
suet,  quarter  of  a  pound  ;  and  bees'  wax,  quarter  of  a  pound. 
Melt  well,  and  rub  well  in  before  the  fire ;  or  currier's  oil  i? 
as  £ood,  barring  the  smell.  3* 


58 


Water-proofing  far  Gun  Locks. — Make  a  saturated  solution 
of  Naphtha  and  India  rubber.  Add  to  this  three  times  the 
quantity  of  Copal  Varnish.  Apply  with  a  fine,  small  brush 
along  the  edges  of  the  lock  and  stock. 

DISTEMPER. 

How  best  to  convey  to  my  readers  a  clear,  and  at  the 
same  time  succinct  account  of  this  disease,  has  much  troubled 
me.  This  is  now  the  third  attempt  made  to  set  before  my 
brother  sportsmen,  who  have  had  little  or  no  experience, 
in  the  plainest  terms,  the  symptoms  and  features  of  the 
disease,  as  well  as  the  best  remedies  to  be  applied  to  its 
various  stages  and  ever  varying  types.  After  considerable 
doubts  on  the  subject,  I  fancy  that  by  setting  before  you  a 
series  of  cases  which  have  come  under  my  own  treatment, 
the  peculiar  features  of  each  case,  the  remedies  prescribed, 
and  the  termination,  whether  fatal  or  otherwise,  I  shall 
best  serve  the  interests  of  my  readers.  I  beg  expressly  to 
state,  that  with  one  or  two  exceptions — the  cases  of  the 
older  dogs — of  which  I  write  from  recollection,  after  a 
lapse  of  several  years,  and  consequently  cannot  be  so  positive 
about,  the  others  have  all  recently  passed  through  my  hands, 
and  the  course  of  treatment,  &c.,  has  been  especially  noted, 
and  here  recorded  with  minute  exactness.  The  range  of 
cases  are,  I  believe,  sufficiently  numerous  to  meet  any  form 
and  stage  of  the  disease,  from  the  most  simple  to  the  most 
complicated  and  fatal.  With  the  sole  exception  of  chorea 
or  paralysis,  a  case  of  which  I  have  never  fairly  seen 
through,  one  or  two  cases  are  noted,  in  which  this  would 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM.  59 

have  been  the  termination,  but  for  the  remedies  applied, 
The  system  pursued  has  been  a  combination  of  a  great  many 
various  receipts,  adapted  to  each  peculiar  case  ;  and  through 
the  very  severe  cases  that  this  year  have  depopulated  my 
kennel,  I  have  been  under  great  obligations  to  a  very 
talented  medical  man,  whose  advice  I  ever  found  of  great 
service,  and  whose  professional  knowledge  enabled  him  so  to 
vary  the  quantities  and  forms  of  the  medicines  as  best  to 
overcome  some  particular  form  or  other.  Every  keeper  or 
sportsman  has,  or  professes  to  have,  some  never-failing  nos- 
trum or  other.  Believe  me,  this  is  all  stuff.  There  have 
been,  are,  and  ever  will  be,  cases  incurable ;  but  I  will  ven- 
ture to  say,  that  ninety- nine  out  of  a  hundred  who  know 
anything  of  the  subject  will  admit  that  these  remedies 
contain  some  one  or  more  of  the  following  medicines,  all  of 
which  are  of  value  : — Epsom  Salts,  Calomel,  Jalap,  Tartar 
Emetic,  as  purgatives  or  vomits  ;  Antimony,  Nitre,  James' 
Powder,  Ipecacuanha,  as  sudorifics,  diaphoretics,  or  febrifuges. 
From  these  medicines,  the  most  used,  it  is  evident  to  see  what 
tendency  the  course  of  treatment  is  designed  to  have,  and 
when  it  fails,  extra  means  must  be  employed  till  that  is 
effected.  Here  it  is  that  study,  practice,  and  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  medicines  and  their  combinations  prove  of 
great  advantage.  At  this  stage  more  dogs  are  lost  for  want 
of  knowledge  what  next  to  do  than  in  any  other  way ;  for 
they  are  either  getting  worse  or  better,  never  standing  still, 
and  each  day's  illness  tells  much  against  the  recovery,  from 
the  great  emaciation  ami  weakness  which  commences  from 
the  first,  and  keeps  increasing  daily.  Never  was  there  a 


60  'i  HE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM. 

more  appropriate  quotation  than  "  Opus  est  consulto,  sed 
ubi  consulueris  mature  facto."  It  were  idle  to  speculate  on 
the  origin  of  the  disease.  Suffice  for  us  that  we  have  it,  and 
that  we  consider  it  an  affection  of  the  mucous  membrane, 
solely,  in  the  earlier  stages,  but  ultimately  combining  itself 
with  general  mucous  affections.  But  it  will  not  be  foreign  to 
our  purpose  to  state  several  influences  which  are  supposed,  if 
not  actually  to  cause,  at  all  events,  greatly  to  increase  its 
virulence.  They  are  these : — Low  Diet,  Dirt,  Confinement  in 
close,  unhealthy,  damp  kennels,  too  great  a  quantity  of  raw, 
or  even  boiled  flesh,  too  little  exercise,  sudden  changes  in  the 
atmosphere,  and  contagion.  It  cannot  be  called  endemic, 
since  it  exists  everywhere.  Neither  is  it  exactly  an  epidemic, 
though  some  years  \t  does  assume  that  form,  while  at  other 
times  it  does  not. 

Bleeding  we  see  recommended  in  the  Field  Sports.  Some 
practitioners  are  very  fond  of  the  lancet.  We  confess  quite  a 
contrary  penchant,  and  hold  that  bleeding  is  seldom  or  ever 
justifiable,  except  in  cases  of  violent  inflammations. 

In  distemper,  we  would  not  draw  blood,  once  in  a  hundred 
times ;  for  the  usual  course  of  the  disease  is  so  enervating, 
that  in  ordinary  circumstances  nature  is  reduced  far  more 
than  agreeable ;  and  as  purgatives  must  be  used  under  any 
circumstances,  they  will  in  general  be  sufficient  to  reduce  any 
fever.  We  will  now  mention  the  ordinary  symptoms  whence 
we  determine  this  complaint.  Lowness  of  spirit,  drowsiness, 
dimness  of  the  eyes,  staring  of  the  coat,  loss  of  appetite, 
may  be  noticed,  and  frequently  disregarded.  Here  we  will 
remark  that  a  mild  dose  of  Eps:>m  salts,  according  to  age 


THE  SPORTSMAN'S  VADE  MECUM.        61 

— vide  prescriptions  at  the  end,  No.  one, — will  suffice.  In  a 
day  or  two,  however,  if  neglected,  sometimes  a  running  at 
the  nose  will  be  seen ;  or  the  ears  and  feet  will  be  cold, 
while  the  head  and  body  will  be  feverish  ;  the  nose  will  be 
hard,  dry,  and  cracked.  By  degrees,  if  neglected,  the  nose 
will  discharge  a  thick  purulent  matter,  the  belly  become 
hotter  and  distended,  the  dog  will  lie  full  stretch,  belly  to  the 
ground,  the  hind  legs  begin  to  fail.  He  may  also  have 
spasmodic  and  convulsive  twitchings,  giddiness,  foaming  at 
the  mouth,  epileptic  fits.  Now  he  will  ravenously  eat  any- 
thing cold,  drink  any  quantity  of  water. 

FIRST  CASE. 

Three  Setter  pups,  two  to  three  months  old.  Appearance, 
c£c. — Slight  drowsiness,  dimness  of  eyes,  staring  of  coat, 
fa3ces  hard.  Gave  two  teaspoonfuls  No.  one,  and  repeated 
next  day.  Intermitted  a  day.  Repeated  dose  to  make  sure. 
All  well. 

SECOND     CASE. 

Three  Setter  puppies,  same  age  at  the  same  time. — Symp- 
toms same,  and  also  heat  in  body  and  head ;  coldness  of 
extremities ;  bodies  inclined  to  hardness ;  faeces  dark  and 
irregular.  Gave  four  teaspoonfuls  No.  one.  Next  morning, 
if  anything  worse,  belly  still  hard  and  swelling,  gave  each 
half  a  grain  of  Calomel,  half  a  grain  of  Tartar  Emetic.  After 
an  hour,  no  vomit  having  been  attained,  repeated  the  dose. 
At  night  gave  each  a  pill — Antimony,  two  grains,  Nitre,  to? 
grains,  Ipecacuanha,  three  grains. 


62 

Third  day. — Saw  pups  about  eight  A.M.  One  had  had  a 
fit,  another  had  one  while  we  were  present,  and  the  third 
Beemed  likely  to  have  one.  Its  eyes  looked  wild ;  it  was 
unnaturally  brisk,  and  running  about ;  the  nose  discharged 
more  freely,  but  not  yet  any  foul  matter.  Gave  all  three 
Calomel  and  Tartar  Emetic  as  before,  and  repeated,  it  not 
having  produced  any  effect.  Between  the  doses,  the  two 
had  each  a  fit,  and  several,  we  may  as  well  mention,  through 
the  day,  the  earlier  ones  being  the  most  severe.  About  one 
hour  after  the  vomit,  gave  each  one  tablespoonful  Castor  oil. 
Fed  them  with  bread  and  milk.  At  night  gave  pill  to  each — 
Antimony,  three  grains,  Nitre,  ten  grains,  Ipecacuanha,  two 
grains.  Next  morning  two  pups  were  better.  Gave  them 
No.  one,  two  teaspoonfuls,  pill  as  before,  night  and  morning, 
for  two  days.  No.  one  the  third  day.  Sent  them  to  kennel. 
The  third  of  this  lot  we  found  not  to  have  had  fits ;  but  his 
bowels  were  hard,  and  his  secretions  black  and  improper. 
Gave  him  Calomel  and  Tartar  Emetic  as  before,  with  No. 
one,  usual  dose,  and  pills  as  above.  Gradually  he  got 
weaker  and  weaker,  and  at  last  he  died.  The  error  here  was 
undoubtedly  in  not  increasing  the  calomel,  and  leaving  out 
emetic,  so  as  to  endeavor  to  alter  the  secretions.  A  pill,  for 
instance,  in  this  form,  would  have  better  met  the  case. 
Calomel,  one  grain,  Antimony,  two  grains,  Nitre,  five  grains, 
followed  up  in  three  hours  by  one  teaspoonful  No.  two. 

THIRD     CASE. 

Two  Setter  pups,  same  age  as  the  last. — Case  very  bad. 
Fits  had  taken  place  more  than  once.  Bodies  hard,  tumid  • 


THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE    MECUM.  03 

head  and  belly  hot,  evidently  much  pain  in  body  ;  ears  and 
feet  icy  cold ;  nose  hard  and  thick,  pus  in  it ;  faeces  not 
noticed.  Gave  instantly,  vomit  as  before;  Calomel  and  Tar- 
tar  Emetic,  half  a  grain.  Repeated  in  one  hour,  not  having 
operated.  Half  an  hour  after  this  had  taken  place,  gave  two 
teaspoonfuls  No.  two  to  each.  This  purged  very  quickly. 
One  of  the  puppies  appeared  to  be  in  much  pain.  Gave  it 
a  saltspoonful  of  mustard  in  a  little  milk.  Fits  constantly 
occurring,  with  intervals  of  one  or  two  hours,  repeated  the 
mustard,  and  gave  Spirits  of  Hartshorn,  six  drops,  Camphor 
water,  sixty  drops,  Sweet  Spirits  Nitre,  twenty  drops,  Lauda- 
num, six  drops.  Repeated  this  dose  in  six  hours'  time. 
Kept  them  all  night  by  the  kitchen  stove.  Slightly  better 
next  morning.  Gave  pill — Antimony,  three  grains,  Calomel, 
one  grain,  Nitre,  ten  grains.  Three  hours  after,  two  tea- 
spoonfuls  No.  two.  Fits  had  ceased  before  night.  Gave 
pill — Antimony,  two  grains,  Ipecacuanha,  three  grains,  Nitre, 
ten  grains,  each  night  and  next  morning.  Next  day 
improvement  visible.  Wildness  of  the  eye  abated  ;  fever  in 
body  and  coldness  of  extremities  much  diminished :  secre- 
tions, however,  still  irregular  ;  nose  dry  and  hard.  At  night 
gave  pill — Ipecacuanha,  three  grains,  Nitre,  ten  grains,  Gin- 
ger Essence,  five  drops.  Next  morning  gave  two  teaspoon- 
fuls No.  two.  At  night,  half  teaspoonful  diluted  Quinine 
Mixture.  Next  day  gave  Quinine  twice.  Day  after,  two 
teaspoonmls  No.  one.  Sent  well  to  kennel.  These  were  the 
worst  cases  of  epileptic  fits  we  ever  saw.  The  pair  could  not 
have  had  less  than  twenty  fits  each,  which  lasted  from  a 


64  THE    SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM. 

quarter  to  half  an  hour,  during  which   they  uttered  most 
piercing  bowlings. 

FOURTH     CASE. 

Pointer  puppy  ten  months  old. — Brought  in  from  kennel ; 
food  chiefly  raw  flesh.  Condition  high.  Appearance — Eyes 
very  dull ;  drowsy  ;  nose  hard,  dry,  with  thick  mucous  effu- 
sion ;  evacuations  .very  offensive.  Should  consider  this  the 
putrid  type.  Gave  half  an  ounce  of  salts  in  warm  water. 
Two  days  after,  gave  ten  grains  Compound  Powder  of 
Ipecacuanha.  No  better:  nose  running  a  thick,  heavy 
matter;  faeces  very  offensive.  Two  days  after  giving  last 
medicine,  gave  four  grains  Antimonial  Powder,  night  and 
morning,  for  two  days.  Dog  died. 

Remarks. — This  case  happened  years  ago,  when  we  were 
young.  Our  treatment  was  bad  from  the  commencement, 
but  the  case  was  a  vile  one  also.  The  following  formulae 
would  have  been  more  befitting : — Calomel,  half  a  grain, 
Tartar  Emetic,  half  a  grain,  repeated  with  intermissions  of  an 
hour,  till  a  vomit  was  secured.  Wineglassful  of  No.  two  in 
an  hour  afterwards.  At  night,  Antimony,  four  grains, 
Nitre,  ten  grains,  repeated  next  morning.  If  secretions  then 
offensive,  Calomel,  two  grains,  followed  by  wineglass  No. 
two,  in  three  hours.  Then  use  Antimony,  Nitre,  and  Ipe- 
cacuanha, more  or  less,  according  as  you  wish  to  act  on  the 
skin,  or  on  the  lungs  or  kidneys.  If  the  cough  is  bad, 
increase  the  Ipecacuanha.  If  fever  prevails,  add  to  the 
Antimony.  Nitre  acts  on  the  bladder. 


THE   SPORTSMAN'S  VADE   MECUM.  65 

FIFTH  CASE. 

A  Terrier  bitch  in  very  low  condition,  pups  having  been 
lately  weaned.  Age,  two  or  three  years. — Symptoms  very 
mild.  Gave  half  an  ounce  of  salts,  and  two  days  after,  ten 
grains  Ipecacuanha,  followed  up  by  four  grains  Antimonial 
Powder,  for  two  days.  Results :  bitch  was  cured  of  distem- 
per, but  so  dreadfully  weak,  could  not  feed  itself.  Gave  one 
teaspoonful  of  Huxam's  Tincture  of  Bark,  three  times  a  day. 
Hand-fed  her  frequently  with  rich  beef  soup,  milk,  and  bread. 
After  a  very  hard  fight,  brought  her  round. 

Remarks. — Could  not  have  done  better  much,  except 
would  have  given  a  combination  of  Antimony,  Ipecacuanha, 
and  Nitre  at  first,  i.  e.  after  purging  with  salts.  Got  great 
credit  at  the  time  for  the  cure,  more  deserved  for  nursing 
well. 

From  these  cases  you  will  be  able  to  see,  that  for  a  simple 
purgative  we  prefer  salts,  as  being  a  very  cooling  dose,  and 
suiting  a  dog's  constitution  well.  In  the  earlier  stages,  it 
sometimes  effects  a  cure.  Where  there  is  a  discharge  of  the 
nose,  you  must,  after  purging,  work  on  the  lungs.  Where 
there  is  fever,  you  must  double  your  purging,  i.  e.  clean 
them  out  front  and  rear  as  quickly  as  possible.  Where  to 
this  is  added  a  visible  disorganization  of  the  secretions,  you 
ought  to  call  in  Calomel  in  large  doses,  one  or  two  grains, 
repeated,  and  this  you  may  continue  with  Antimony,  and  so 
at  the  same  time  subdue  the  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  In 
the  earlier  part  of  spring  and  in  fall,  there  is  little  fear  of 
diarrhoea  supervening.  A  slight  attack  of  it  will  not  be  of 


much  consequence  provided  you  take  care  to  keep  it  well  it 
hand.  Opium  must  be  used  with  great  caution  ;  it  rather 
tends  to  epileptic  fits,  which,  by  the  way,  we  consider  to 
result  from  an  almost  stoppage  of  the  bowels.  Compound 
Powder  of  Chalk,  Quinine  Mixture,  Rhubard,  Catechu,  will 
generally  be  sufficient. 

In  the  Field  Sports  is  the  following  receipt,  and  as  we 
have  invariably  found  Elaine  and  Youatt's  horse  and  dog 
receipts  the  most  reliable,  we  quote  it.  It  is  new  to  us,  and 
so  is  a  violent  case  of  diarrhoea,  for  that  matter. 

$  Magnesia,  one  drachm  ;  powdered  Alum,  two  scruples ; 
Powdered  Calumba,*  one  drachm;  P.  Gum  Arabic,  two 
drachms.  Mix  with  six  ounces  boiled  starch,  and  give  a 
dessert  or  table  spoonful  every  four  or  six  hours,  pro  re  nata. 

CASE. 

We  will  now  suppose  a  case,  for  our  practice  of  late  years 
has  been  confined  to  young  puppies.  Ears  and  feet  cold ; 
body  and  head  very  hot ;  body  hard  and  distended ;  nose 
hard,  dry,  and  almost  stopped  up  with  thick  matter ;  dry, 
husky  cough ;  faeces,  hard ;  pulse  rapid,  evidencing  much 
fever.  Give  instantly,  Calomel  and  Tartar  Emetic,  half  a 
grain  each,  repeating  it  with  intermissions  of  an  hour,  till 
you  get  a  vomit.  One  hour  after,  give  wine  glass  No.  two. 
Twelve  hours  after,  if  fever  has  not  abated,  give  three  grains 
Calomel,  followed  in  three  hours  by  wine  glass  of  No.  two. 
If  the  next  day  you  find  any  fever  still  lingering,  give  Calo- 

*  Catechu,  one  drachm,  will  be  better  than  the  Calumba.     It  is  far 
ore  efficacious. — Dinks. 


THE   SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM.  6V 

me2,  three  grains,  as  before,  Antimonial  Powder,  eight  grains, 
This  will,  with,  in  three  hours,  the  usual  quantity  of  No. 
two,  be  pretty  sure  to  be  successful.  You  must  now  address 
yourself  to  the  cold  and  other  symptoms;  and  you  may 
give  large  doses  of  Ipecacuanha  and  Nitre.  Keep  the  bowels 
open,  but  avoid  active  purging,  except  in  cases  of  fever.  If 
you  find  at  any  time  the  body  getting  hard  and  distended, 
administer  the  emetic.  Let  the  dog  out  into  the  air  when- 
ever it  is  fine  and  warm,  keep  his  nose  well  cleaned  out,  and 
change  his  bed  daily.  Encourage  him  to  drink  fresh  water, 
if  he  will. 

The  receipts  alluded  to  in  the  previous  pages  are  as 
follows : — 

No.  1. — For  young  pups  up  to  six  months  old. — Of  Epsom 
salts,  take  two  ounces  ;  of  water,  one  quart.  Mix  well,  and 
keep  close  corked. 

No.  2. — Eight  ounces  of  Saturated  Solution  of  Epsom 
salts,  in  water ;  thirty  drops  Sulphuric  Acid.  Mix  weL, 
and  cork  close. 

Antimony  is  preferable,  when  there  is  fever.  It  is  an 
antiphlogistic.  Ipecacuanha,  when  there  is  much  debility. 
The  last  also  affects  the  lungs,  and  is  more  efficient  in 
removing  cold. 

Half  an  ounce  of  salts  is  a  fair  dose  for  a  dog  from  nine 
months  to  any  age.  No.  2  is  particularly  recommended 
whenever  an  early  action  is  required.  It  is  essentially 
short,  sharp  and  decisive* 


68 


THE   SPORTSMAN'S   VADE   MECUM. 


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DOGS, 

AND   THEIR   MANAGEMENT; 


BEING   A    NEW   PLAN    FOR   TREATING   THE   ANIMAL, 
BASED    UPON   A    CONSIDERATION    OF 


HIS     NATURAL     TEMPERAMENT 


Illustrate^  bt|  numerous  f  ngrabmgs, 

DEPICTING    THE    CHARACTER    AND    POSITION    OK    THE    DOG 
WHEN    SUFFEIUNG    DISEASE. 


EDWARD  MAYHEW,  M.R.C.V.S. 


SECOND  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


PKEFACE. 


IN  the  following  pages  is  laid  before  the  public  the  result  of 
several  years'  study.  The  Author  hopes  to  be  able,  ultimately,  to 
perfect  a  system  of  treatment  which  shall  change  only  with  the 
progress  of  the  science,  of  which  it  can  be  no  more  than  an 
offshoot.  Saying  this,  the  writer  cannot  be  accused  of  self- 
glorification,  since  there  is  in  the  field  no  living  author  over 
whom  he  might  appear  to  triumph. 

The  book  was  also  written  with  the  hope  of  inducing  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Author's  profession  to  study  more  carefully  the 
Pathology  of  the  Dog.  This  is  at  present  not  properly  taught, 
nor  is  it  rightly  understood  by  the  Yeterinarians  who  profess  to 
alleviate  canine  afflictions.  Of  all  the  persons  who  accept  such 
offices,  there  is  but  one  who,  to  the  Author's  knowledge,  devotes 
the  time,  attention,  or  care  which  disease  in  every  shape 
demands ;  and  the  individual  thus  honorably  distinguished,  is 
ME.  GowiNa  of  Camden  Town. 


CONTENTS  OF  MAYHEW'S  MANAGEMENT. 


Paga 

General  Remarks, 73 

Distemper,        .                                   120 

Mouth,  Teeth,  Tongue,  Gullet,  <fcc.,                    ....  179 

Bronchocele, ,         .         .         .         .198 

Respiratory  Organs, 200 

Hepatitis,                           221 

Indigestion, 227 

Gastritis,  . .  233 

St.  Vitus's  Dance,     .                          240 

Bowel  Diseases, 246 

Paralysis  of  the  Hind  Extremities,             270 

Rheumatism,     .                                             274 

The  Rectum, 278 

Fits, 295 

Rabies, 299 

Generative  Organs— Male,        .        .         .         .         .        .        :  313 

"                "         Female,   .                 337 

Skin  Diseases, 410 

Canker  within  and  without  the  Ear, 419 

The  Eye,           .                                  429 

Diseases  of  the  Limbs,      ........  437 

Fractures, 444 

Operations,       ........                 .  460 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  75 

greater  force  to  the  jackal.  However,  to  settle  the  dis- 
pute, we  here  give  the  likeness  of  the  beast,  and  leave 
to  the  reader  to  point  out  the  particular  breed  of  dogs  to 
which  it  belongs. 


THE  JACKAL. 


Beyond  the  circumstance  of  the  habitats  of  the  animals 
being  distinct,  is  the  well-known  fact  that  all  domesticat- 
ed animals  have  a  disposition  to  return  to  their  original 
formation ;  but  who  ever  heard  of  a  dog,  however 
neglected,  or  however  wild,  becoming  either  a  wolf  or  a 
jackal  ? 

The  dog  is  spread  all  over  the  world,  and  not  only  is 
the  animal  thus  widely  distributed  over  the  face  of  the 
earth,  but  there  is  no  creature  that  is  permitted  with  such 
perfect  safety  to  the  human  race  to  have  such  continual 
and  intimate  intercourse  with  mankind.  It  is  found  in 
every  abode  :  the  palace,  the  warehouse,  the  mansion, 
and  the  cottage,  equally  afford  it  shelter.  No  condition 
of  life  is  there  with  which  the  dog  is  not  connected.  The 
playmate  of  the  infant,  the  favorite  of  the  woman,  the 


76  DOGS  ;     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

servant  of  the  man,  and  the  companion  of  the  aged,  it  is 
seen  in  and  around  every  home. 

Thus  brought  into  intimate  connexion  with  the  human 
race,  and  continually  subject  to  observation,  it  is  not 
a  little  strange  that  the  dog  should  be  universally  misun- 
derstood. There  is  no  quadruped  which  is  more  abused ; 
whether  treated  kindly  or  otherwise,  the  dog  is  equally 
made  to  suffer ;  and  probably  the  consequences  of  over 
indulgence  are  more  cruel  in  their  result  than  is  the 
opposite  course  of  treatment.  The  health  of  the  beast  is 
perhaps  best  preserved  when  neglect  deprives  it  of  man's 
attention ;  then  it  may  suffer  from  want,  but  it  escapes 
many  of  the  diseases  which  caprice  or  ignorance  entail 
upon  the  generality  of  the  tribe.  There  exists  no 
creature  more  liable  to  disorder,  and  in  which  disease  is 
prone  to  assume  a  more  virulent  or  a  more  complicated 
form.  To  minister  to  its  afflictions,  therefore,  demands 
no  inconsiderable  skill ;  and  it  becomes  the  more  difficult 
to  alleviate  them,  since  canine  pathology  is  not  fully 
comprehended,  nor  the  action  of  the  various  medicines 
upon  the  poor  beast  clearly  understood ;  yet  there  are 
few  persons  who  in  their  own  estimation  are  not  able  to 
vanquish  the  many  diseases  to  which  the  dog  is  liable. 
About  every  stable  are  to  be  met  crowds  of  uneducated 
loiterers,  possessors  of  recipes  and  owners  of  specifics, 
eager  to  advise  and  confident  of  success.  I  seldom  send 
a  diseased  dog  into  the  park  for  exercise,  that  my  servant 
does  not  return  to  me  with  messages  which  strangers 
have  volunteered  how  to  cure  the  animal.  I  hear  of 


DOGS  *.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  77 

medicines  that  never  fail,  and  of  processes  that  always 
afford  relief.  Persons  often  of  the  upper  rank  honor  me 
with  secret  communications  which  in  their  opinion  are 
of  inestimable  value  ;  ladies  frequently  entreat  me  to  try 
particular  nostrums,  and  sportsmen  not  seldom  command 
me  to  do  things  which  I  am  obliged  to  decline.  In  fact, 
the  man  who  shall  attempt  to  treat  the  diseases  of  the 
dog,  will  have  no  little  annoyance  to  surmount.  He  will 
soon  discover  that  science  unfortunately  can  afford  him 
but  partial  help,  while  prejudice  on  every  side  increases 
the  difficulties  with  which  he  will  have  to  contend. 

Happily,  however,  the  majority  of  pretended  cures  are 
harmless.  A  roll  of  sulphur  in  the  animal's  water  may 
be  permitted,  since  it  amuses  the  proprietor  while  it  does 
not  injure  his  dog.  Some  of  these  domestic  recipes, 
nevertheless,  are  far  from  harmless,  and  they  are  the 
more  to  be  deprecated,  because  those  which  most  people 
would  imagine  to  be  safe  are  the  very  ones  which  are 
attended  with  the  greatest  danger.  Common  salt  is  a 
poison  to  the  dog  ;  tobacco  is  the  source  of  many  a  death 
in  the  kennel  ;  castor  oil  often  does  the  ill  which  months 
of  care  are  needed  to  efface,  even  if  the  life  be  not 
destroyed.  In  the  majority  of  cases  vomits  are  far 
from  beneficial ;  bleeding  is  very  seldom  required,  and 
the  warm  bath  has  sealed  the  doom  of  innumerable 
animals. 

The  foregoing  observations  will  have  informed  the 
reader  of  the  reasons  that  prompt  the  publication  of  the 
present  work,  which  is  put  forth  only  as  a  step  towards 


78  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

the  point  the  author  does  not  yet  pretend  to  have  fully 
attained.  The  study  of  years  will  be  required  to  perfect 
that  which  is  now  commenced,  and  further  experience 
will  probably  demand  the  retraction  of  many  of  the 
opinions  herein  advanced.  The  reader  will  understand, 
the  author  in  the  present  work  asserts  only  that  which  lie 
now  believes.  It  must  not  be  imagined,  however  positive 
may  read  the  language  in  which  his  sentiments  are 
expressed,  that  the  writer  is  pledged  to  uphold  any  of 
the  conclusions  at  which  he  may  have  arrived ;  know- 
ledge is  in  its  nature  progressive,  and  canine  pathology 
is  not  yet  clearly  made  out.  The  advantages  which 
accompany  the  study  of  anatomy,  physiology,  and  thera- 
peutics have  yet  to  be  more  largely  applied  to  the  dis- 
eases of  the  dog,  and  until  this  has  been  accomplished, 
science,  not  reposing  upon  truth,  will  be  constantly  sub- 
jected to  change.  The  present  work,  therefore,  will  be 
accepted  only  as  a  contribution  to  veterinary  literature, 
and  its  contents  will  be  viewed  as  doing  nothing  more 
than  declaring  the  temporary  convictions  of  one,  who, 
desirous  of  truth,  does  not  conceal  that  his  mind  is 
oppressed  by  many  doubts. 

In  the  following  pages  advantage  will  be  freely  taken 
of  the  labours  of  those  authors  who  have  written  upon 
the  subject ;  nor  must  it  be  supposed,  because  the  writer 
may  feel  himself  obliged  to  dissent  from,  he  therefore 
undervalues  the  genius  of  Elaine  or  Youatt.  Before 
Elaine  collected  and  arranged  the  knowledge  which 
existed  concerning  the  diseases  of  the  dog,  canine  patho- 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  79 

logy,  as  a  separate  or  distinct  branch  of  veterinary 
science,  hardly  existed.  The  task  he  accomplished ;  but 
if  after  the  lapse  of  years  some  of  his  opinions  are 
found  to  be  unsound,  and  some  of  his  statements  dis- 
covered to  require  correction,  these  circumstances  may 
be  regarded  as  the  natural  consequences  of  progression, 
while  they  in  no  way  deteriorate  from  the  honor  due  to 
his  name.  Youatt  enlarged  and  softened  the  teaching  of 
his  master,  and  by  the  liberality  of  his  communications, 
and  the  gentleness  of  his  example,  improved  and  adorned 
the  science  to  which  he  was  attached.  To  others  than 
these  two  great  men  I  have  no  obligations  to  acknowledge. 
For  their  memories  I  take  the  opportunity  of  expressing 
the  highest  respect,  and  confess  that  to  their  instruction 
is  fairly  due  any  novelty  which  the  present  pages  may 
contain ;  since  but  for  those  advantages  their  teaching 
afforded,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if  I  had  perceived  the 
facts  herein  made  known. 

Before  any  mention  is  made  of  the  diseases  of  the  dog, 
it  will  be  proper  to  take  some  notice  of  the  temperament 
of  the  animal,  as  without  regarding  this  the  best  selected 
medicines,  or  the  most  assiduous  attention,  may  be  of  no 
avail.  Any  one  who  will  observe  the  animal  will  soon 
be  made  aware  of  its  excessive  irritability.  The  nervous 
system  in  this  creature  is  largely  developed,  and,  exert- 
ing an  influence  over  all  its  actions,  gives  character  to 
the  beast.  The  brain  of  the  dog  is  seldom  in  repose,  for 
even  when  asleep  the  twitching  of  the  legs  and  the  sup- 
pressed sounds  which  it  emits  inform  us  that  it  is  dream- 


80  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

ing.  No  animal  is  more  actuated  by  the  power  of  imagi- 
nation. Who  is  there  that  has  not  seen  the  dog  mistake 
objects  during  the  dusk  of  the  evening '?  Delirium 
usually  precedes  its  death,  and  nervous  excitability  is  the 
common  accompaniment  of  most  of  its  disorders.  To 
diseases  of  a  cerebral  or  spinal  character  it  is  more  liable 
than  is  any  other  domesticated  animal.  Its  very  bark  is 
symbolical  of  its  temperament,  and  its  mode  of  attack 
energetically  declares  the  excitability  of  its  nature.  The 
most  fearful  of  all  the  diseases  to  which  it  is  exposed 
(rabies),  is  essentially  of  a  nervous  character,  and  there 
are  few  of  its  disorders  which  do  not  terminate  with  symp- 
toms indicative  of  cranial  disturbance.  This  tendency 
to  cerebral  affections  will,  if  properly  considered,  suggest 
those  casual  and  appropriate  acts  which  the  dog  in  afflic- 
tion may  require,  and  which  it  would  be  impossible  for 
any  author  fully  to  describe.  Gentleness  should  at  all 
times  be  practised;  but  to  be  truly  gentle  the  reader 
must  understand  it  is  imperative  to  be  firm.  Hesitation, 
to  an  irritable  being,  is,  or  soon  becomes,  positive 
torture. 

He  who  would  attend  upon  the  dog  must  be  able  to 
command  his  feeling,  and,  whatever  fear  he  may  be  con- 
scious of,  he  must  have  power  to  conceal  his  emotion. 
The  hand  slowly  and  cautiously  advanced,  to  be  hastily 
retracted,  is  nearly  certain  to  be  bitten.  Whatever 
therefore  is  attempted  should  be  done  with  at  least  the 
appearance  of  confidence,  and  the  determination  of  the 
man  will,  in  the  generality  of  cases,  check  the  disposition 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  81 

of  the  beast.  There  should  be  no  wrestling  or  fighting. 
The  practitioner  should  so  prepare  his  acts  as  to  prevent 
the  dog  in  the  first  instance  from  effectually  resisting,  and 
the  animal  mastered  at  the  commencement  is  usually 
afterwards  submissive.  If,  however,  from  any  cause,  the 
primary  attempt  should  not  be  effective,  the  attendant, 
rather  than  provoke  a  contest  which  can  be  productive 
of  no  beneficial  result,  should  for  a  brief  period  retire, 
and  after  a  little  time  he  may  with  better  success  renew 
his  purpose. 

Strange  dogs  are  not  easily  examined  in  their  own 
homes,  especially  if  they  be  favorites  and  their  indul- 
gent owners  are  present.  Like  spoiled  children,  the 
beasts  seem  to  be  aware  of  all  the  advantages  which  the 
affections  of  their  master  give  to  their  humors.  They 
will  assume  so  much,  and  play  such  antics,  as  renders  it 
impossible  to  arrive  at  any  just  conclusion  as  to  the 
actual  state  of  their  health.  Dogs  in  fact  are  great  im- 
postors, and  he  who  has  had  much  to  do  with  them  soon 
learns  how  cunningly  the  pampered  "toy"  of  the  draw- 
ing-room can  "  sham."  For  deception,  consequently,  it 
is  necessary  to  be  prepared,  and  practice  quickly  teaches 
us  to  distinguish  between  what  is  real  and  that  which  is 
assumed.  The  exertion,  however,  required  to  feign  dis- 
turbs the  system,  and  the  struggle  which  always  accom- 
panies the  act  renders  it  frequently  impossible  to  make 
the  necessary  observation  with  requisite  nicety.  Petted 
dogs  are,  therefore,  best  examined  away  from  their  homes, 
and  in  the  absence  of  any  one  who  has  been  in  the  habit 

4* 


82  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

of  caressing  them.  Frequently  I  have  found  it  of  no 
avail  to  attempt  the  examination  of  these  creatures  at 
the  residences  of  their  owners  ;  but  the  same  animals 
brought  to  my  surgery  have,  without  a  struggle,  allowed 
me  to  take  what  liberties  I  pleased.  I  usually  carry 
such  dogs  into  a  room  by  myself,  and  commence  by 
quickly  but  gently  lifting  them  off  their  legs  and  throw- 
ing them  upon  their  backs.  This  appears  to  take  the 
creatures  by  surprise,  and  a  little  assurance  soon  allays 
any  fear  which  the  action  may  have  excited.  The  dog 
seldom  after  resists,  but  permits  itself  to  be  freely  handled. 
Should,  however,  any  disposition  to  bite  be  exhibited, 
the  hand  ought  immediately  to  grasp  the  throat,  nor 
should  the  hold  be  relinquished  until  the  creature  is  fully 
convinced  of  the  inutility  of  its  malice,  and  thoroughly 
assured  that  no  injury  is  intended  towards  it.  A  few 
kind  words,  and  the  absence  of  anything  approaching  to 
severity,  will  generally  accomplish  the  latter  object  in  a 
short  period,  and  confidence  being  gained,  the  brute 
seldom  violates  the  contract. 

Dogs  are  intelligent  and  honorable  creatures,  and  no 
man  will  have  reason  to  regret  who  teaches  himself  to 
trust  in  their  better  qualities.  I  have  hitherto,  in  a  great 
measure,  escaped  their  teeth,  and  being  slow  and  infirm, 
my  good  fortune  certainly  cannot  be  attributed  to  my 
activity.  Kindness  and  consideration  work  upon 
animals ;  nor  do  I  believe  there  are  many  of  the  lower 
creatures  that  will  not  appreciate  such  appeals.  It  is 
better,  therefore,  to  work  upon  the  sympathetic  nature 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  83 

of  the  brute,  than  to  compete  with  it  in  strength,  or 
endeavor  to  outvie  it  in  agility.  Manual  dexterity  will 
often  fail,  and  is  seldom  employed  save  when  danger  is 
present.  Mental  supremacy  appealing  to  the  source  of 
action  ensures  safety,  by  subduing,  not  the  resistance, 
but  the  desire  to  resist. 

It  is  easy  to  ascertain  when  the  dog  has  regained  that 
tranquillity  which  would  allow  of  its  being  trusted  with 
security.  The  eye  need  alone  be  consulted,  and  a  little 
observation  will  speedily  instruct  any  one  to  read  its 
meaning  correctly.  When  the  creature  is  irritated,  the 
pupil  invariably  dilates,  and  by  singly  marking  this  cir- 
cumstance, the  temper  of  the  beast  may  be  correctly 
ascertained.  Nor  should  caution  be  discarded  until  the 
contracted  circle  assures  that  the  agitation  has  passed 
away. 

With  the  smaller  kind  of  spaniels  and  the  generality 
of  petted  animals,  the  indications  of  the  eye  may  be 
depended  upon  ;  but  with  the  more  robust  and  less  fami- 
liarized species  it  is  safest  to  take  some  precaution,  even 
while  the  sign  of  sagacity  is  exhibited.  Certain  dogs, 
those  of  coarse  breeds  and  large  size,  are  exceedingly 
treacherous,  and  sometimes  are  not  safe  even  to  their 
masters.  Creatures  of  this  kind  are,  however,  usually  as 
devoid  of  courage  as  they  are  deficient  of  magnanimity  ; 
and  by  the  display  of  resolution  are  to  be  readily  sub- 
dued. 

When,  however,  really  sick,  there  are  few  dogs  which 
may  not  be  approached.  Under  such  circumstances,  the 


84  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

utmost  gentleness  should  be  employed.  The  stranger 
should  advance  quietly,  and  not  bustle  rudely  up  to  the 
animal.  He  should  speak  to  it  in  accents  of  com- 
miseration, which  will  be  better  comprehended  than 
the  majority  of  reasonable  beings  may  be  willing  to 
admit. 

The  hand  after  a  little  while  should  be  quietly  offered 
to  the  dog  to  smell,  and  that  ceremony  being  ended,  the 
pulse  may  be  taken,  or  any  other  necessary  observation 
made,  without  dread  of  danger.  Every  consideration, 
however,  ought  to  be  given  to  the  condition  of  the  beast. 
No  violence  on  any  account  should  be  indulged ;  it  is 
better  to  be  ignorant  of  symptoms  than  to  aggravate  the 
disorder  by  attempting  to  ascertain  their  existence.  If 
the  brain  should  be  affected,  or  the  nervous  system  sym- 
pathetically involved,  silence  is  absolutely  imperative. 
No  chirping  or  loud  talking  ought  under  such  circum- 
stances to  be  allowed,  and  the  animal  should  not  be 
carried  into  the  light  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  it. 
The  real  condition  of  the  patient,  and  the  extent  or 
nature  of  its  disease,  will  be  best  discovered  by  silently 
watching  the  animal  for  some  time,  and  attentively 
noting  those  actions  which  rarely  fail  to  point  out  the 
true  seat  of  the  disorder.  Consequently  manual  inter- 
ference is  the  less  needed,  and  in  numerous  instances  I 
have,  when  the  creature  has  appeared  to  be  particularly 
sensitive  to  being  handled,  trusted  to  visible  indications, 
and  done  so  with  perfect  success.  The  hand  certainly 
can  confirm  the  eye,  but  the  mind,  properly  directed, 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  86 

can  often  read  sufficient  without  the  aid  of  a  single 
sense. 

Having  made  the  foregoing  remarks,  which  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  reader  will  readily  enlarge,  it  will  next  be 
necessary  to  describe  in  what  way  the  dog  should  be 
examined.  Simple  as  this  operation  may  appear,  it  is 
one  which  few  persons  properly  comprehend  ;  and  as 
upon  it  everything  depends,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to 
devote  a  few  lines  to  its  explanation. 

The  dog,  in  the  first  place,  should  be  permitted  to  run 
about,  released  from  every  restraint,  or  only  so  far  con- 
fined as  is  necessary  to  prevent  his  escape  from  the 
limits  of  observation.  No  attempt  should  be  made  to 
attract  the  animal's  attention,  but  the  practitioner,  seating 
himself  in  one  corner,  ought  to  be  perfectly  still  and 
silent.  -  The  way  in  which  the  creature  moves  ;  whether 
it  roams  about,  stands  motionless,  appears  restless  or 
indifferent,  avoids  the  light,  seems  desirous  of  companion- 
ship, or  huddles  itself  into  some  place  as  far  as  possible 
removed  from  inspection ;  whether  it  crouches  down, 
curls  itself  round,  sits  upon  its  haunches,  turns  round  and 
round  trying  to  bite  its  tail,  drags  itself  along  the  floor, 
or  lies  stretched  out  either  upon  its  side  or  belly  j  in 
what  manner  the  head  is  carried,  and  to  what  part  it  is 
directed ;  if  any  particular  place  is  licked,  bitten,  or 
scratched ;  if  thirst  is  great,  or  the  dog  by  scenting  about 
shows  an  inclination  for  food ;  the  nature  of  the  breath- 
ing, the  expression  of  the  countenance,  the  appearance 
of  the  coat,  and  the  general  condition  of  the  body,  should 


86  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

all  be  noted  down.  When  such  points  have  been  ob- 
served, the  animal  is  addressed  by  name,  and  attempts 
may  be  made  to  approach  and  to  caress  it ;  the  way  in 
which  it  responds,  submits  to,  or  resents  such  advances 
being  carefully  remarked. 

The  dog  may  then  be  handled.  The  eyes  and  their 
membrane  are  inspected,  to  see  if  the  one  be  dull  or 
moistened  by  any  discharge,  and  if  the  other  be  red- 
dened, pallid,  yellow,  or  discolored. 

The  ears  are  next  felt  around,  their  edges  lifted  to  dis- 
cover if  any  blackened  wax  or  soreness  be  present  in 
their  convolutions,  and  slightly  squeezed  to  ascertain  if 
any  crackling  sensation  is  communicated  to  the  fingers, 
or  sign  of  pain  evinced  by  the  animal. 

The  nose  is  now  to  be  remarked.  If  it  be  moist  or 
dry;  and  if  dry,  whether  it  is  at  all  encrusted.  The 
back  of  the  hand  or  side  of  the  cheek  should  be  applied 
to  the  part  to  ascertain  its  temperature. 

The  lips  should  next  be  raised,  and  the  state  of  their 
lining  membrane,  with  the  condition  of  the  teeth,  ob- 
served. 

The  jaws  should  then  be  separated,  that  the  tongue 
may  be  seen  sufficiently  to  note  its  color,  and  the  breath 
smelt. 

The  hand  should  subsequently  be  passed  over  the 
head  and  along  the  back,  to  feel  the  hair,  and  discover 
whether  there  exist  any  sore  places  or  tumors  concealed 
beneath  it.  The  coat  may  now  be  generally  examined, 
to  find  whether  in  any  part  the  covering  is  thin  or 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  8*7 

deficient.  Its  firmness  should  afterwards  be  tried,  and 
the  itchiness  of  the  skin  tested  by  the  nails,  as  well 
as  its  thickness  and  pliancy  ascertained  between  the 
fingers. 

The  hand  should  also  be  applied  to  the  throat,  and 
carried  along  the  course  of  the  windpipe,  feeling  for  any 
swelling  of  the  salivary  glands,  or  enlargement  of  the 
thyroid.  It  is  next  passed  to  the  abdomen,  and  the  inferior 
part  of  the  cavity  is  gently  pressed  upwards,  to  ascertain 
if  the  rectus  abdominis  muscle  be  contracted,  or  the 
animal  shows  symptoms  of  tenderness.  The  abdomen 
may  subsequently  be  kneaded  between  the  fingers.  The 
amount  of  fat  should  not  be  unnoticed,  nor  should  the 
firmness  of  the  muscles  pass  unobserved. 

When  all  this  is  accomplished,  the  dog  is  laid  upon  its 
side  or  back,  and  the  tail  being  elevated,  the  anus  is 
inspected  and  felt,  to  see  whether  it  be  inflamed  or  pro- 
truded, and  to  feel  if  it  be  indurated  or  thickened. 

The  feet  are  now  taken  up,  and  the  length  and  shape 
of  the  nails,  with  the  condition  of  the  dew  claws,  inspected, 
to  see  whether  they  are  growing  into  the  flesh,  or  by 
their  shortness  indicate  the  animal  has  been  accustomed 
to  healthful  exercise.  The  pad  and  web  also  receive  a 
glance. 

If  the  animal  be  a  male,  the  prepuce  is  first  pressed 
and  then  withdrawn,  to  perceive  if  any  discharge  be 
present,  or  if  the  lining  membrance  be  inflamed  or  ulcer- 
ated. 

Should  it  be  a   bitch,   the   vulva   are  inspected,  to 


88  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

observe  if  they  are  moistened  by  any  exudation,  or  if 
they  are  swollen  and  excited  by  the  touch.  They  are 
separated  to  observe  the  color  of  the  lining  membrane. 

The  mammae  are  then  felt,  to  know  if  the  animal  has 
ever  borne  pups,  or  if  any  of  them  are  hardened.  At 
the  same  time  the  parts  are  squeezed,  to  discover  whether 
or  not  they  contain  milk. 

Such  is  a  general  description  of  the  manner  of  proceed- 
ing, but  there  are  many  possibilities  which  the  above 
directions,  lengthy  and  minute  as  they  may  read,  do  not 
include.  Such,  for  instance,  as  hernia,  and  disease  of  the 
testicle  or  scrotum.  All,  however,  it  would  not  be  neces- 
sary to  describe  at  length,  and  the  foregoing  instructions 
will  lead  the  eye  to  any  extraordinary  appearances  should 
they  exist.  The  experienced  practitioner  probably  will 
do  less  than  is  here  set  down,  being  educated  to  a  promp- 
titude which  enables  him  to  leap  as  it  were  at  once  to 
those  parts  which  deserve  his  attention.  For  such  the 
above  is  not  intended ;  but  he  who  has  not  made  the  dog 
his  special  study,  will  certainly  find  his  advantage  in 
going  through  the  whole  ceremony ;  nor  will  the  most 
experienced  practitioner  habitually  neglect  any  portion 
of  it,  without  having  cause  to  lament  his  inattention.  To 
examine  the  dog  properly,  is  perhaps  even  more  difficult 
than  to  perform  the  same  office  upon  the  horse,  and  cer- 
tainly it  is  a  duty  which  there  are  few  persons  qualified 
to  discharge. 

Having  spoken  of  the  proper  manner  of  examining  the 
animal,  before  I  proceed  to  describe  its  diseases,  I  shall 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  89 

touch  upon  some  of  those  matters  which  are  essential  to 
its  health.  It  will,  however,  be  understood  that  I  do  not 
here  pretend  to  treat  of  hounds,  which  for  the  most  part 
are  well  attended  to,  and  fed,  exercised,  &c.,  according 
to  the  judgment  of  the  individual  entrusted  with  the 
superintendence  of  the  kennel.  Little  probably  could  be 
written  which  would  materially  amend  the  condition  of 
these  creatures ;  but  petted  and  housed  dogs  are  com- 
monly treated  after  a  fashion  with  which  judgment  has 
nothing  to  do.  Persons  are  indulgent  to  their  animals, 
and  imagine  that  they  are  also  kind,  when  too  often  they 
oppose  the  dictates  of  their  reason  to  gratify  the  weak- 
ness of  their  momentary  impulses.  A  little  reflection 
will  convince  such  people  that  humanity  does  not  consist 
in  the  yielding  to  every  expression  of  desire.  The  dog, 
in  a  state  of  nature,  being  carnivorous,  and  obliged  to 
hunt  for  its  food,  in  all  probability  would  not  feed  every 
day  ;  certainly  it  would  seldom  make  more  than  one 
meal  in  twenty-four  hours.  When  the  prey  was  caught, 
it  would  be  torn  to  pieces,  and  with  the  flesh  much  earth 
would  be  swallowed.  The  animal,  however,  is  now  to  be 
regarded  as  subjected  to  man ;  but  while  so  viewing  it, 
nothing  will  be  lost  by  keeping  in  sight  its  primitive 
habits. 

The  dog  can  fast  for  a  great  number  of  days.  Absti- 
nence for  forty-eight  hours  seldom  injures  it ;  but  it  is  a 
practice  which  ought  not  to  be  too  frequently  adopted,  as 
by  its  repetition  the  digestion  is  weakened.  One  meal, 
however,  is  sufficient,  in  every  case,  for  the  twenty-four 


90  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

hours.  Animals  not  worked,  but  kept  as  favourites,  or 
allowed  only  to  range  at  pleasure,  should  not  have  any 
meat,  nor  be  permitted  to  consume  any  large  quantity  of 
fatty  substances.  Butter,  fat,  or  greese,  soon  renders  the 
skin  of  the  dog  diseased  and  its  body  gross.  Milk,  fine 
bread,  cakes,  or  sugar,  are  better  far  for  children,  and  can 
be  on  the  hurn^n  race  bestowed  with  advantage  ;  while 
given  to  the  brute  they  are  apt  to  generate  disorders, 
which  a  long  course  of  medicine  will  not  in  every  case 
eradicate.  Beer,  wine,  or  spirits,  all  of  which  the  dog 
can  be  induced  to  drink,  show  rather  the  master's  igno- 
rance than  the  creature's  liking.  Nice  food,  or  that 
which  a  human  being  would  so  consider,  is  in  fact  not 
fitted  to  support  the  dog  in  health.  It  may  appear  offen- 
sive to  ladies  when  they  behold  their  favourites  gorge 
rankly,  but  Nature  has  wisely  ordained  that  her  nume- 
rous children  should,  by  their  difference  of  appetite,  con- 
sume the  produce  of  earth.  The  dog,  therefore,  can 
enjoy  and  thrive  upon  that  which  man  thinks  of  with 
disgust ;  but  our  reason  sees  in  this  circumstance  no  facts 
worthy  of  our  exclamation.  The  animal  seeking  the 
provender  its  Creator  formed  its  appetite  to  relish,  is  not 
necessarily  filthy  or  unclean  ;  but  could  dogs  write  books, 
probably  the  opinions  of  these  beasts  upon  many  of  the 
made  dishes  and  tit-bits  of  the  fashionable  circles,  would 
be  opposed  to  the  ideas  which  delicate  epicures  entertain 
concerning  such  luxurious  fare.  The  spaniel  which, 
bloated  with  sweets,  escapes  from  the  drawing-room  to 
amuse  itself  with  a  blackened  bone  picked  from  a  dung- 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  91 

hill,  follows  but  the  inclination  of  its  kind;  and  while 
tearing  with  its  teeth  the  dirt-begrimed  morsels,  it  is, 
according  to  its  nature,  daintily  employed.  Could  we 
read  its  thoughts,  probably  the  perverse  little  pet,  even 
while  it  is  provoking  its  mistress's  horror,  is  reflecting 
upon  the  nasty  trash  which  the  human  stomach  can 
endure,  and  upon  the  tempting  relishes  which  mankind 
know  not,  like  dogs,  how  to  appreciate.  An  occasional 
bone  and  a  little  dirt  are  beneficial  to  the  canine  race, 
while  food  nicely  minced  and  served  on  plates  is  calcu- 
lated to  do  harm.  Such  keep  fattens  to  excess,  destroys 
activity,  renders  the  bowels  costive,  and  causes  the  teeth 
to  be  encrusted  with  tartar. 

A  bone  is  of  great  service  to  the  animal,  which  cannot 
employ  a  tooth-brush  ;  and  the  larger  it  be  and  the  less 
meat  upon  it,  the  better  it  will  prove  for  little  high-fed 
favorites.  A  dog  in  strong  health  may  digest  an  occa- 
sional meal  of  bones ;  but  the  pet  has  generally  a  weak 
and  often  a  diseased  stomach,  which  would  be  irritated 
by  what  would  otherwise  do  it  no  harm.  The  animal, 
nevertheless,  true  to  its  instinct,  has  always  an  inclination 
to  swallow  such  substances,  provided  its  teeth  can  break 
off  a  piece  of  a  size  fitted  for  deglutition.  Game  and 
chicken-bones,  which  are  readily  crushed,  should  there- 
fore be  withheld,  for  not  unfrequently  is  choking  caused 
by  pieces  sticking  in  the  oesophagus  ;  though  more  often 
is  vomiting  induced  by  irritation  of  the  stomach,  or  serious 
impactment  of  the  posterior  intestine  ensues  upon  the 
feebleness  of  the  digestion. 


92  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

The  bone,  therefore,  should  be  large,  and  on  it  there 
should  be  nothing  which  the  knife  can  remove.  It  ought 
to  be  thrown  upon  the  earth,  and  the  animal  should  be 
allowed  to  gnaw  it  at  leisure.  During  the  act,  a  consi- 
derable quantity  of  earth  and  saliva  will  be  swallowed, 
and  little  actual  food  be  added  to  an  already  loaded 
stomach.  In  all  points  of  view  the  animal  is  benefited. 
The  soil  is  always  slightly  alkaline,  and  so  is  the  saliva ; 
any  undue  acidity  is  by  both  in  some  measure  counter- 
acted ;  but  the  earth  is  also  of  further  service.  Food  too 
highly  or  purely  nutritive  will  not  support  life  ;  but  to 
render  it  healthy,  a  certain  quantity  of  indigestible  or 
refuse  matter  is  imperative.  The  latter  portion  acts 
mechanically  as  a  stimulant  to  the  intestines,  and  hence 
gentlemen  by  choice  consume  bread  in  which  a  portion 
of  the  husk  is  mingled,  finding  it  prevents  the  costiveness 
that  the  baker's  "  best  "  induces.  Dogs  are  here  very 
like  men,  but  they  require  more  of  the  mixture  than  the 
human  being  could  bear.  The  animals,  therefore,  should 
not  be  fed  off  plates. 

The  better  practice  is  to  take  the  day's  allowance  and 
throw  it  upon  the  ground,  letting  the  beast  eat  it  with 
what  addition  it  may  please.  Neither  should  the  nature 
of  the  food  itself  be  disregarded.  Oatmeal  or  ship-biscuit 
ought  always  to  be  given,  if  alone  the  better,  else  rice 
upon  which  gravy  has  been  poured.  Meat,  when  allow- 
ed, should  be  lean,  and  the  coarser  the  better.  Paunch 
or  tripe  is  excellent  food  for  dogs,  and  for  a  continuance 
I  have  found  nothing  agree  so  well.  Horse-flesh  or  any 


DOGS:    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  93 

such  filth  is  never  to  be  allowed  ;  this  kind  of  food  being 
very  apt  to  generate  diseases  of  the  skin.  Dogs  will 
thrive  on  liver,  but  it  is  too  valuable  an  article  of  diet  for 
these  creatures  to  be  regularly  given.  "When  only  occa- 
sionally administered  it  has  a  well-marked  laxative  pro- 
perty, and  on  this  account  will  often  be  of  service  in 
rendering  needless  the  use  of  medicinal  agents.  In  the 
raw  state,  if  the  animal  will  take  it,  its  action  is  more 
powerful ;  but  after  it  has  been  boiled  it  generally  is 
sufficiently  operative.  The  meat,  whatever  it  may  be, 
should,  for  animals  not  in  work,  be  boiled,  raw  flesh  being 
more  stimulative  than  their  comparatively  idle  pursuits 
demand.  Such  animals,  in  fact,  may  be  said  to  lead 
sedentary  lives,  and  their  diet  must  be  lowered  to  suit 
their  habits.  For  the  pointer,  &c.,  during  the  season, 
raw  flesh  is  actually  to  be  preferred,  nor  should  the 
quantity  be  limited.  The  exertion  is  great,  and  the  ut- 
most indulgence  in  this  respect  will  seldom  do  harm  ;  but 
my  own  experience  teaches  me  that  the  sporting  dog  is 
often  crippled  by  being  under  fed.  It  cannot  consume 
too  much,  neither  can  that  much  be  too  nourishing,  espe- 
cially if  the  country  to  be  shot  over  is  of  a  hilly  nature. 
It  is  one  of  the  prejudices  of  most  men  to  believe  that 
a  feed  of  oats  to  the  horse,  or  a  meal  of  flesh  to  the  dog, 
just  before  starting,  gives  strength  for  the  labor  which  is 
to  be  endured.  We  cannot,  however,  make  strength  as 
beds  are  made,  at  any  moment,  but  the  invigoration  of  a 
living  body  must  be  the  result  of  a  slow  and  a  long  pro- 
cess. On  the  day  of  work  it  is  of  less  consequence  what 


94  DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT 

food  is  given  than  is  the  diet  which  has  been  allowed  the 
many  previous  weeks. 

Regularity  in  the  hour  of  feeding  should  equally  be 
observed  ;  and  if  this  matter  be  generally  attended  to, 
there  will  be  no  danger  of  its  being  forgotten,  since  dogs' 
stomachs  are  excellent  time-keepers,  and  the  brutes  are 
not  by  any  delicacy  of  feeling  restrained  from  asking. 
The  hour,  after  a  little  while,  will  always  for  the  sake  of 
peace  be  kept,  and  the  animals  will  soon  learn  the  rules 
to  which  they  are  subjected. 

For  home-kept  dogs  there  is  no  possibility  of  stating 
the  quantity  of  food  that  ought  to  be  allowed.  No  two 
animals  in  this  respect  are  alike.  One  eats  much,  and  its 
fellow  consumes  but  little  ;  yet  the  small  feeder  in  most 
cases  thrives  the  best  even  where  neither  is  stinted.  The 
quantity,  therefore,  cannot  be  measured.  The  only  rule 
to  be  observed  is,  that  there  be  enough  placed  before  the 
animal  at  a  stated  hour.  Let  him  eat  of  this  till  the  slacken- 
ing of  the  jaws'  movement  and  the  raising  of  the  head  in- 
dicate that  hunger  has  been  for  the  present  appeased.  So 
soon  as  this  is  remarked  the  food  ought  to  be  withdrawn. 
On  no  account  should  the  creature  be  allowed  to  gorge 
to  repletion,  or  eat  after  its  healthy  craving  has  been 
satisfied.  While  the  dog  eats  it  should  therefore  be 
watched ;  and  this  custom  works  well,  as  the  failure  of 
the  appetite  often  gives  to  the  attendant  the  earliest  in- 
dication of  disease. 

The  dog  that  neglects  its  day's  allowance  should  not 
be  coaxed  to  feed,  but  ought  to  be  left  alone  for  some 


DOGS  .'    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  95 

minutes,  or  until  its  companions  have  finished  their  meal. 
It  should  then  be  examined,  and  if  nothing  can  be  detect- 
ed, perhaps  the  abstinence  of  a  day  may  restore  it. 
Until  the  proper  hour  arrives  on  the  following  day, 
nothing  ought  to  be  given  to  the  animal,  nor  should  any 
inclination  on  its  part  for  food  be  noticed. 

Where  eating  is  concerned,  dogs  have  lively  sympa- 
thies. The  animal  which  at  its  own  kennel  has  feasted  to 
satiety,  will  wake  from  its  digestive  slumber  to  taste  any- 
thing of  which  it  sees  its  master  partaking.  These  crea- 
tures are  so  peculiarly  sensitive  in  this  respect,  that  they 
will  do  violence  to  their  feelings  rather  than  be  left  out 
when  eating  is  going  forward.  Dogs  moreover  are  most 
pertinacious  beggars,  and  they  soon  learn  the  cunning  of 
the  trade.  On  no  account  should  they  be  permitted  to 
frequent  the  kitchen.  If  properly  reared,  they  will  be 
rigidly  honest,  but,  like  the  "  audacious  cats,"  they  offer 
a  ready  excuse  to  dishonest  kitchen-maids,  who  will 
sometimes  do  injury  by  subjecti  g  the  animal  to  unde- 
served chastisement. 

Where  the  servants  are  trustworthy  this  danger  will 
not  arise  ;  but  good  servants  mostly  have  tender  hearts, 
and  dogs  have  a  peculiar  tact  in  appealing  to  female  weak- 
nesses. However  strict  may  be  the  orders,  and  however 
sincere  may  be  the  disposition  to  observe  them,  bits  will 
fall, — scraps  will  be  thrown  down, — dishes  will  be  placed 
upon  the  ground,  and  sometimes  affection  will  venture  to 
offer  just  "  the  little  piece,"  which  no  one  could  call  feed- 
ing. It  is  astonishing  how  much  will  in  this  way  be 


96  DOGS  !    THEIR,    MANAGEMENT. 

picked  up,  for  the  dog  that  lies  sost  b?f)re  the  kitchen 
fire  is  generally  the  fattest^  laziest,  and  at  feeding  time 
the  best  behaved  of  his  company.  Consequently  no  dog 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  kitchen,  for  their  arts  in 
working  upon  mortal  frailty  can  only  be  met  by  insisting 
on  their  absence.  The  dog  that  is  well  fed  and  not  cram- 
med, should  not  refuse  bread  when  it  is  offered.  If  this 
be  rejected,  while  sugar  is  eagerly  snapped  up,  it  will  be 
pretty  certain  that  the  animal  is  either  too  much  indulged, 
or  that  its  health  requires  attention. 

Some  writers  recommend  pot-liquor  for  dogs.  It  is  not 
advisable  to  use  this.  The  water  in  which  salt  meat  has 
been  boiled  ought  never  to  be  employed.  Greens  are  not 
nutritious,  but  they  often  purge  ;  and  if  the  animal  will 
eat  them,  they  can  sometimes  be  given  when  liver  cannot 
be  obtained.  Potatoes  will,  with  other  substances,  agree 
with  animals  not  required  for  work,  but  the  rice  I  have 
recommended  will  be  found  for  general  purposes  the  best, 
and  not  the  most  expensive  food  upon  which  the  animal 
can  be  sustained.  Persons  having  lap-dogs  will  moreover 
find  the  keep  upon  rice,  properly  seasoned,  or  soaked  in 
gravy,  less  liable  to  render  these  creatures  strong  or 
tainted  than  the  provender  which  is  choicely  selected 
from  the  joint  provided  for  the  family  dinner.  The 
warm  meat  too  often  presented  to  these  creatures  is  apt 
to  enfeeble  their  digestions ;  for  their  stomachs  are  soon 
deranged,  and  they  never  should  be  allowed  to  taste  any 
kind  of  food  which  is  not  perfectly  cold. 

The  food  for  diseased  dogs  should  be  prepared  with 


DOGS'.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  97 

extreme  care,  and  no  disregard  of  cleanliness ;  in  fact,  it 
should  in  every  respect  be  such  as  a  human  being  could 
partake  of,  provided  the  ingredients  were  not  repugnant 
to  his  taste.  Sickness  cannot  be  relieved  without  trouble, 
and  in  many  cases  an  animal  requires  as  much  attention 
as  a  child.  To  gain  success,  neither  time,  labor,  nor  ex- 
pense must  be  begrudged  ;  but  the  attendant  must  be 
assiduous  and  the  cook  skilful.  Nothing  smoked  or 
burnt,  no  refuse  or  tainted  flesh,  must  on  any  account  be 
made  use  of.  The  meat  may  be  coarse,  but  it  should  be 
fresh  and  wholesome.  Dirty  saucepans  or  dishes  ought 
not  to  be  employed ;  and  so  very  important  are  these  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  practitioner  who  engages  in  dog 
practice  will  often  surprise  his  acquaintances  by  being 
seen  at  market,  or  busied  over  the  fire.  Beef  tea  is  one 
of  the  articles  which  in  extreme  cases  is  of  great  service. 
Few  servants,  however,  make  it  properly,  and  when  a 
dog  is  concerned  there  are  fewer  still  who  will  credit  that 
any  pains  should  be  bestowed  upon  the  decoction.  I 
generally  either  prepare  it  myself  or  superintend  the 
person  who  undertakes  that  office,  and  not  unfrequently 
give  serious  offence  by  my  officiousness  ;  or,  spite  of 
studious  attention,  fail  in  procuring  that  which  I  desire. 
Still,  as  in  the  last  extremity  food  is  even  of  more  import- 
ance than  medicine,  my  anxiety  cannot  be  conquered  by 
such  schooling,  and  I  am  therefore  content  to  bear  the 
sneers  of  those  who  cannot  understand  my  motives. 

To  make  beef-tea  properly,  take  a  pound  and  a  half  of 
coarse,  lean  beef:  that  cut  from  the  neck  or  round  is  best. 

5 


98  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

The  leg  does  not  answer  so  well,  however  excellent  it 
may  be  for  soup.  The  rump  steak  is  good  for  the  pur- 
pose, but  no  better  than  other  and  cheaper  parts ;  though 
I  often  use  it  when  nothing  else  can  be  obtained  so  well 
suited  for  this  beverage.  Let  the  flesh  be  carefully  sepa- 
rated from  every  portion  of  skin  or  fat,  and  chopped  as 
fine  as  for  sausage  meat — the  smaller  the  better — it  can- 
not be  too  minutely  minced.  Without  washing  it,  put  the 
flesh  into  a  clean  saucepan,  with  a  pint  of  water,  and  so 
place  it  upon  the  fire  that  it  will  be  half  an  hour  at  least 
before  it  boils.  When  it  boils,  allow  it  to  remain  in  that 
state  for  ten  minutes,  and  then  remove  it,  pouring  off  the 
liquor,  which  should  be  set  aside  to  cool.  When  cold, 
any  fat  upon  the  surface  should  be  removed,  and,  no  salt 
or  seasoning  of  any  kind  being  added,  the  beef-tea  is  fit 
for  use. 

To  the  meat,  which  has  been  drained  of  moisture,  the 
skin  and  fat  may  now  be  added  and  a  pint  and  a  half  of 
water,  which  should  be  allowed  to  boil  till  it  is  reduced 
to  a  pint.  This  being  set  aside  and  afterwards  cleared 
of  fat,  will  be  of  some  service  if  used  instead  of  water 
when  the  next  potion  is  required  ;  and  there  is  no  limit- 
ation in  the  quantity  which  may  be  needed. 

Besides  beef-tea,  wheaten  flour,  oatmeal,  arrow-root, 
starch,  biscuit  powdered,  and  ground  rice  are  also  to  be 
employed.  These  are  to  be  mixed  with  water,  or  more 
often  with  beef-tea,  and  boiled  ;  but  for  sick  animals  the 
compound  should  not  be  made  too  thick.  The  ordinary 
consistence  of  gruel  will  be  about  the  proper  substance, 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  99 

and  a  little  only  should  be  administered  every  hour  or 
half-hour,  as  the  case  may  require.  From  half  a  pint  to 
a  quart,  divided  so  as  to  allow  of  a  portion  being  given  at 
the  stated  periods,  will  be  sufficient  for  a  large  or  small 
animal,  the  quantity  being  proportioned  to  the  size. 
When  the  creature  is  so  far  exhausted  that  it  is  no  longer 
willing  or  able  to  lap,  the  nourishment  should  be  adminis- 
tered by  means  of  a  tube  passed  down  the  throat  or  into 
the  oesophagus  ;  for  if  given  with  a  spoon,  as  the  breath- 
ing is  always  disturbed,  the  consequence  may  be  fatal, 
from  the  fluid  being  drawn  into  the  lungs.  The  food 
should  always  be  made  fresh  every  morning ;  and  none 
left  from  the  previous  day  ought  on  any  account  to  be 
mixed  with  it,  more  especially  if  the  weather  be  at  all 
warm. 

These  directions  may  to  some  appear  needlessly  par- 
ticular ;  but  so  rapid  are  the  terminations  of  canine  dis- 
eases, and  so  acute  are  they  in  their  development,  that 
while  the  tax  upon  the  patience  is  not  likely  to  be  of  long 
duration,  the  care  demanded  during  their  existence  must 
be  unremitting. 

Exercise  is  next  to  food,  and  if  of  one  dogs  generally 
have  too  much,  of  the  other  few  have  enough.  In  towns, 
if  dogs  are  kept,  a  chain  and  collar  should  always  be  at 
hand.  The  servants  should  be  ordered  to  take  the  crea- 
tures out  whenever  they  go  upon  their  errands,  and  an 
occasional  free  journey  with  the  master  will  be  a  treat 
which  will  be  the  more  enjoyed  because  of  the  habit  thus 
enforced. 


100  DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

Washing  dogs  is  not  a  custom  deserving  of  half  the 
consideration  which  is  bestowed  upon  it.  The  operation 
is  not  so  necessary  as  it  is  generally  imagined.  Soap  and 
water  make  the  hair  look  white ;  but  the  coat  usually 
becomes  soiled  the  quicker  because  of  their  employment. 

The  use  of  alkalies,  soda,  or  potash,  in  the  water,  ren- 
ders the  immediate  effects  more  conspicuous ;  but  unfor- 
tunately these  substances  also  make  the  after-conse- 
quences more  vexatious.  They  take  the  sebaceous  or 
unctuous  secretion  from  the  coat.  The  skin  is  deprived 
of  its  natural  protector  in  this  animal ;  the  cuticle  grows 
weak  and  dry.  The  hair  is  rendered  rough  ;  is  prepared 
to  catch  the  dirt ;  and  not  unfrequently  the  skin  itself, 
by  nature  striving  to  counteract  the  effect  of  its  depriva- 
tion, pours  forth  a  secretion  that  aids  in  causing  it  to  ap- 
pear foul.  Above  all,  the  warmth,  so  repeatedly  and 
often  inhumanly  applied  to  the  entire  surface  of  the  body, 
debilitates  the  system  of  the  creature,  and  generates  in 
the  long  run  certain  disease,  even  if  by  the  drying  imme- 
diate disorder  be  not  engendered.  The  warm -bath  to 
the  dog  is  peculiarly  debilitating,  and  the  heat  which  the 
hand  of  a  cook  would  endure  with  a  sense  of  comfort, 
will  sometimes  cause  the  dog  to  faint.  Panting  is  a  sign 
of  sensible  weakness  in  this  animal,  and  few  of  these 
creatures  are  washed  without  exhibiting  it.  If  washing 
is  insisted  upon,  the  water  should  never  be  warm,  and  in 
cold  weather  only  should  the  chill  be  taken  off.  The 
soap  ought  to  be  of  the  mildest  quality ;  but  the  yelk  of 
an  egg  is  much  to  be  preferred,  and  in  its  effects  is  every 


DOGS  '.    THEIR    MANAOFMKU^.  10] 


way  more  beneficial  where  the  hair  either  of  n*un',oiJ 
beast  must  be  cleansed.  A  small  dog  will  require  the 
yelk  of  one  egg  ;  and  a  Newfoundland  the  yelks  of  a 
dozen  eggs.  The  yelks  are  to  be  separated  from  the 
whites  and  smeared  well  into  the  hair.  A  little  water  is 
then  to  be  poured  upon  the  back,  and  the  hand  is  to  be 
rubbed  upon  the  coat  till  a  lather  covers  the  body,  after 
which  the  hair  may  be  cleared  by  copious  ablutions. 
This  process  is  much  to  be  preferred,  and  the  dog  dis- 
likes it  far  less  than  when  soaps  are  employed.  His 
eyes  are  not  made  to  smart,  or  his  skin  to  burn,  and  if 
he  tastes  the  substance  he  does  not  therefore  sicken. 
Moreover,  when  the  business  is  ended,  even  if  some  por- 
tion of  the  egg  should  cling  to  his  hair  he  will  not  on 
that  account  neglect  his  personal  appearance.  The  coat 
will  be  found  to  look  bright,  and  to  remain  clean  for  a 
longer  period  than  after  the  adoption  of  the  customary 
thoughtless  process. 

Washing,  however,  is  not  constantly  required,  if  a  dog 
be  kept  combed  and  brushed  every  morning,  and  does 
not  reside  in  a  very  filthy  locality.  A  little  dirt  after  a 
walk  is  easily  removed,  if  it  be  allowed  to  dry  perfectly, 
and  the  hair  is  then  rubbed  and  picked  by  the  hand  of 
its  attendant,  when  the  comb  will  complete  the  proceed- 
ing. A  bath  every  morning  does  the  generality  of  dogs 
good  ;  but  it  should  be  cold,  and  the  animal  ought  not  to 
be  punished  by  having  its  head  submerged.  It  should 
be  plunged  up  to  the  neck,  the  head  being  held  above 
the  surface.  While  in  the  water  the  coat  should  be  well 


•102  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 


'  with'  th«  .hand,  that  every  portion  of  the  hair 
may  become  thoroughly  soaked.  This  over,  no  attempt 
should  be  made  to  dry  the  dog,  for  that  is  not  by  any 
industry  to  be  perfectly  accomplished.  Neither  ought 
the  dog  to  be  wrapped  up,  placed  before  the  fire,  or  suf- 
fered to  lie  about,  which  it  is  always  by  a  sense  of  dis- 
comfort induced  to  do,  if  not  made  to  move.  The  animal 
ought  immediately  to  be  started  for  a  scamper,  and  never 
Allowed  to  remain  quiescent  until  its  activity  has  driven 
every  trace  of  moisture  from  its  body.  Not  until  this  is 
thoroughly  effected  should  the  creature  be  brought  in- 
doors, or  be  suffered  to  rest  for  a  moment.  If  healthy 
it  will  require  little  exertion  on  its  attendant's  part  to 
make  it  jump  and  run  about;  but  some  of  these  little 
animals  have  to  carry  a  burthen  of  fat  which  no  sense 
of  uneasiness  can  provoke  them  to  move  under  of  their 
free  wills.  An  active  lad  with  a  chain  may,  in  these  last 
cases,  be  of  much  use  ;  but  he  should  be  told  to  exercise 
his  charge  in  some  spot  open  to  the  master's  eye,  else 
the  boy  may  play  while  the  animal  shivers. 

Some  dogs  show  a  great  dislike  to,  strenuously  fighting 
with,  the  collar  and  chain  ;  others  will  exhibit  the  most 
piteous  distress,  by  squatting  upon  their  hocks,  and 
whining,  while  they  pant  vehemently,  and  look  implor- 
ingly up  to  the  face  of  their  leader.  The  first  are  proba- 
bly not  aware  of  the  intention  of  the  bonds  to  which  they 
are  subjected,  and  should  not  be  harshly  rebuked.  The 
voice  ought  to  assure  them,  and  means  be  resorted  to 
calculated  to  allay  their  fears.  Gentleness  and  firmness 


DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  103 

will  in  two  or  three  days  render  such  animals  perfectly 
submissive  for  ever  after.  The  last  kind  are  rank  im- 
postors. No  one  not  familiar  with  these  animals  would 
credit  the  arts  which  they  can  with  such  excellent  effect 
and  apparent  genuineness  practise  to  gain  their  ends. 
They  have  been  used  to  be  carried,  and  they  prefer 
riding  in  the  arms  of  a  human  being.  Their  insinuating 
tricks  ought  to  be  rewarded  only  by  laughter,  accompa- 
nied with  an  admonition. 

Dogs  are  very  intelligent.  They  understand  much 
more  than  men  choose  to  give  them  credit  for.  Their 
pride  is  enormous,  and  through  this  feeling  they  are 
easily  moved.  Laughter,  when  directed  against  himself, 
no  dog  can  endure,  and  the  slightest  reprimand  is  always 
answered  by  an  immediate  change  of  aspect.  Rather 
than  have  their  dignity  offended,  dogs  will  quickly  be- 
come honest,  especially  when  deceit  is  experienced  to  be 
of  no  avail.  People  who  are  physiognomists  may  detect 
this  sentiment  impressed  upon  the  countenance.  Upon 
the  next  page  is  a  portrait  of  a  Mastiff.  Mark  the  abso- 
lute Asiatic  dignity,  only  outwardly  slurred  over  by  a 
heedlessness  of  behaviour.  Does  it  not  seem  as  though 
the  creature,  through  very  pride  reposing  upon  strength, 
was  above  forms  ?  Who  could  think  of  laughing  at  such 
gravity  1  Would  it  not  be  like  ridiculing  nature  to  insult 
one  who  has  such  outward  claims  to  our  respect  1 

Sporting  dogs  will  always  take  the  exercise  that  is 
beneficial,  and  for  such  the  cold  bath  is  much  to  be  recom- 
mended. Only  in  skin  diseases  should  the  tepid  bath  be 


104  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

resorted  to.  It  is  of  much  service  when  the  skm  is  hot 
and  inflamed,  but  after  it,  exercise  ought  not  to  be  neg- 
lected. For  healthy  animals  the  hot  or  warm  bath  should 


never  be  employed ;  but  the  sea  is  frequently  as  benefi- 
cial to  dogs  as  to  their  owners ;  only  always  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  head  should  be  preserved  dry. 

Vermin  often  are  very  troublesome  to  dogs,  and  I  have 
known  these  animals  destroyed  because  their  owners 
were  ignorant  of  the  process  by  which  the  annoyance 
might  have  been  readily  conquered.  There  are  many 
powerful  drugs  recommended  by  different  writers  to 
effect  this  end  ;  but  though  all  of  them  are  sufficiently 
potent  to  annihilate  the  parasite,  most  of  them  are  also 
strong  enough  to  kill  the  dog.  When  fleas  are  nume- 
rous, the  dog  must  be  taken  from  the  place  where  it  has 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  105 

been  accustomed  to  sleep.  The  bed  must  be  entirely 
removed,  and  the  kennel  sluiced — not  merely  washed — 
with  boiling  water,  after  which  it  ought  to  be  painted 
over  with  spirits  of  turpentine.  The  dog  itself  ought  to 
be  washed  with  eggs  and  water,  as  before  directed  ;  but 
with  the  yelk  of  every  egg  a  teaspoonful  of  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine should  be  blended.  After  this,  the  animal  should 
have  pine  shavings  to  sleep  upon,  and  if  these  are  fre- 
quently renewed,  the  annoyance  will  seldom  be  again 
complained  of.  As,  however,  exceptional  cases  will  al- 
ways start  up,  should  the  tribe  not  be  entirely  dispersed, 
the  washing  must  be  repeated ;  or  if  from  want  of  time 
or  other  cause  it  be  inconvenient  to  renew  that  operation, 
a  little  powdered  camphor  rubbed  into  the  coat  will  mostly 
abate  and  often  eradicate  the  nuisance. 

Lice  often  cover  the  body  of  the  dog,  and  especially 
crowd  upon  its  head  around  the  eyes  and  lips.  There 
need  be  no  dread  of  their  presence,  since  these  vermin 
will  not  live  upon  the  human  being,  though  similar  to  the 
kind  which  will.  When  they  are  perceived,  the  dog 
should  be  carried  into  some  place  in  which  grease  stains 
are  not  of  much  consequence.  It  ought  then  to  be 
covered  with  castor  oil  till  the  hair  is  completely  satu- 
rated. In  this  state  it  should  be  allowed  to  remain  at 
least  twelve  hours,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  the 
oil  may  be  removed  with  yelk  of  eggs  and  water  :  only 
an  additional  number  of  eggs  will  be  required.  As  to 
the  quantity  of  castor  oil  which  may  be  necessary,  a 
moderate-sized  dog  with  a  long  coat  will  require  about  a 


106  DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT, 

pound,  and  a  large  Newfoundland  four  times  that 
amount.  The  process,  as  might  be  anticipated,  operates 
upon  the  bowels  ;  but  I  have  never  found  it  to  do  so 
with  any  dangerous  power  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  laxative 
effect  is  generally  in  these  cases  beneficial. 

Medicine  to  the  dog  requires  to  be  administered  with 
caution.  The  nostrums  which  are  so  particularly  recom- 
mended by  grooms  and  farriers  ought  never  to  be  made  use 
of.  The  veterinaiy  surgeon  is  less  likely  to  commit  error  ; 
but  there  are,  however,  few  of  the  profession  who  devote 
attention  to  the  dog  with  the  zeal  which  the  comprehen- 
sion of  its  diseases  and  their  treatment  demand.  Hunts- 
men and  gamekeepers  are  generally  from  practical  expe- 
rience not  altogether  inapt  dog  doctors,  where  the  larger 
and  more  robust  kind  of  animal  is  to  be  treated  ,  but  for 
the  smaller  and  petted  species  these  persons  ought  not  to 
be  consulted.  Many  of  their  receipts  are  harsh — not  a 
few  of  them  inoperative — and  some  even  dangerous; 
while  all  for  the  most  part  are  pushed  down  at  random, 
or  in  total  ignorance  of  any  effect  the  agents  employed 
may  induce  beyond  the  intended  one  of  doing  good  or 
working  a  certain  cure.  Nevertheless,  with  the  kind  of 
animals  generally  entrusted  to  their  charge,  such  persons 
are  so  far  successful  that,  in  the  absence  of  better  advice, 
they  deserve  to  be  consulted  for  the  larger  species  of 
dogs.  The  human  physician  will  also,  on  occasions, 
be  enabled  to  prescribe  advantageously  for  the  canine 
race ;  but  not  knowing  the  treatment  of  the  diseases, 
and  the  bymptoms  being  too  often  deceptive,  the  high- 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  107 

est  opinions  are  by  no   means    to  be   absolutely  relied 
upon. 

Dog-doctoring  is,  in  fact,  a  separate  branch  of  science 
so  intricate  as  to  call  for  intense  study  strengthened  by 
constant  observation.  No  one  not  attached  to  the  animal 
should  attempt  to  master  it,  for  success  in  such  a  case 
would  be  hopeless.  The  annoyances  are  so  great  that 
the  patience  is  continually  being  tried  ;  and  the  facts  on 
which  reliance  can  be  placed  are  so  few,  that  he  who  is 
content  to  depend  upon  the  received  assertions  will  never 
be  able  to  realize  his  expectation.  Nothing  is  more  erro- 
neous than  to  believe  that  there  is.  any  close  analogy  be- 
tween man  and  the  dog  in  the  operation  of  medicinal 
substances.  Aloes,  rhubarb,  &c.,  are  not  purgatives  to 
the  dog ;  but  castor  oil,  which  to  the  human  being  is  a 
gentle  laxative,  to  the  dog  is  an  active  purge ;  while 
Epsom  salts  are  a  violent  hydragogue  to  the  canine  pa- 
tient, producing  copious  and  watery  stools.  Common 
salt  is  in  large  doses  a  poison,  and  in  apparent  small 
quantities  is  so  strong  an  emetic  as  to  be  dangerous. 
Salivation  speedily  ensues  upon  the  use  of  minute  quan- 
tities of  mercury,  which  therefore  cannot  be  considered 
safe  in  the  hands  of  the  general  practitioner.  Secale 
cornutum  has  little  specific  action  beyond  that  of  indue 
ing  vomiting;  and  strychnia  cannot  be  with  security 
administered,  on  account  of  its  poisonous  operation  upon 
the  animal.  Other  instances,  casting  more  than  suspicion 
upon  thq  inferences  which  every  writer  upon  Materia 
Medica  draws  from  the  action  of  drugs  given  to  dogs, 


108  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

could  easily  be  quoted,  but  they  would  here  be  somewhat 
out  of  place  ;  and  probably  sufficient  has  been  said  to 
check  a  dangerous  reliance  upon  results  that  admit  of  no 
positive  deduction 

It  is  painful  to  peruse  the  "  experiments"  made  espe- 
cially by  the  French  authors.  We  read  that  so  much  of 
some  particular  agent  caused  death  to  a  dog  in  such  a 
period  ;  but  he  must  be  wise  indeed  who  learns  anything 
from  statements  of  this  kind.  The  word  dog  represents 
animals  of  various  sizes  and  very  diverse  constitutions  ; 
therefore  no  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  an  assertion 
that  does  not  embrace  every  particular.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  operators  think  it  no  disgrace  to  their  sci- 
entific attainments  to  put  forth  such  loose  and  idle  asser- 
tions ;  nor  do  they  seem  to  hold  it  derogatory  to  their 
intelligence  that  they  assume  to  reach  a  show  of  certainty 
by  experimentalising  upon  a  creature  about  which,  as 
their  reports  bear  witness,  they  literally  know  nothing. 
Equally  unsatisfactory  are  the  surgical  and  physiological 
experiments  made  upon  these  creatures.  No  results 
deduced  from  such  acts  can  be  of  the  slightest  impor- 
tance. The  anatomy  of  the  dog  is  not  by  them  generally 
understood.  There  is  no  book  upon  this  subject  that  is 
deserving  of  commendation;  and,  to  instance  the  igno- 
rance which  prevails  even  in  places  where  a  superficial 
knowledge  ought  to  exist,  I  will  mention  but  one  circum- 
stance. 

At  the  Royal  Veterinary  College  there  is  a  professor 
of  Particular  Anatomy,  whose  duty  it  is  specially  to  in- 


DOGS'.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  109 

struct  the  pupils  concerning  the  dog.  The  lectures,  how- 
ever, embrace  but  little,  and  that  little  is  principally 
devoted  to  wandering  remarks  upon  the  osseous  structure. 
Of  the  value  of  such  teaching  some  opinion  may  be 
formed  when  the  skeleton  at  the  College  actually  exhibits 
the  bones  placed  in  wrong  cr  unnatural  situations.  After 
the  proof  thereby  afforded,  with  what  reliance  can  any 
sane  mind  accept  the  awful  declarations  of  those  anato- 
mists who,  upon  the  living  bodies  of  these  creatures;  have, 
according  to  their  own  accounts,  exhibited  a  nicety  and 
certainty  3f  skill  which  the  profoundest  acquaintance 
with  the  various  structures  and  parts  would  still  leave 
incomprehensible  ?  Such  reports  evidence  only  the  pre- 
sumptuous folly  of  individuals — the  publication  of  such 
records  testifies  no  more  than  the  ignorance  of  the  age. 

To  give  medicine  to  the  Dog  often  creates  more  bustle 
than  the  magnitude  of  the  creature  appears  to  justify. 
Moreover,  if  the  parties  concerned  in  the  undertaking 
are  not  quite  up  to  their  business,  the  animal,  which, 
between  its  gasping,  howling,  and  struggling,  will  find 
time  to  bite,  increases  the  activity  by  provoking  human 
exclamations.  I  have  known  this  species  of  confusion 
to  have  been  continued  for  half  an  hour ;  during  which 
work  was  stopped  in  a  forge,  and  three  brawny  smiths 
joined  a  veterinary  surgeon's  efforts  to  give  a  pill  to  a 
little  spaniel  that  could  not  have  weighed  above  eight 
pounds.  The  dog  was  beaten  and  hands  were  bitten,  but 
after  all  no  pill  was  swallowed.  The  result  was  the 
natural  consequence  of  the  manner  of  proceeding.  No 


110  DOGS'.   THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

man  should  contend  with  an  animal,  and  especially  with 
a  dog,  whose  excitement  soon  renders  it  incapable  of  obe- 
dience. 

With  brutes  of  every  kind,  if  the  mastery  cannot,  by 
a  bold  stratagem,  be  gained  at  once,  it  should  be  only 
established  through  the  confidence  of  the  animal,  which 
a  few  acts  of  kindness  will,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
easily  win.  I  have  had  dogs  brought  to  me  which 
seemed  disposed  rather  to  part  with  life  than  permit 
their  jaws  to  be  handled.  The  poor  beasts  had  been 
harshly  used  by  the  persons  who  had  previously  under- 
taken to  treat  them.  Tnese  creatures  have  remained 
with  me,  and  in  a  little  time  have  grown  so  submissive 
that  my  shop-boy  could  with  ease  give  any  kind  of 
physic  which  I  ordered  to  be  prepared.  Firmness  and 
kindness  were  the  only  stratagems  I  employed.  I  took 
care  never  to  give  the  dog  a  chance  of  mastery,  but 
while  ensuring  my  victory,  I  was  careful  that  the  con- 
quest caused  no  sense  of  pain.  A  few  pats,  with  a  kind 
word,  and  an  occasional  reward  in  the  shape  of  a  bit  of 
meat,  induced  the  creature  more  willingly  to  submit  when 
the  next  dose  came  round. 

A  small  dog  should  be  taken  into  the  lap,  the  person 
who  is  to  give  the  physic  being  seated.  If  the  animal 
has  learned  to  fight  with  its  claws,  an  assistant  must 
kneel  at  the  side  of  the  chair  and  tightly  hold  them 
when  the  dog  has  been  cast  upon  its  back.  The  left 
hand  is  then  made  to  grasp  the  skull,  the  thumb  and  fore 
finger  being  pressed  against  the  cheeks  so  as  to  force 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  Ill 

them  between  the  posterior  molar  teeth.  A  firm  hold  of 
the  head  will  thus  be  gained,  and  the  jaws  are  prevented 
from  being  closed  by  the  pain  which  every  effort  to  shut 
the  mouth  produces.  No  time  should  be  lost,  but  the 
pill  ought  to  be  dropped  as  far  as  possible  into  the  mouth, 
and  with  the  finger  of  the  right  hand  it  ought  to  be 
pushed  the  entire  length  down  the  throat.  This  will  not 
inconvenience  the  dog.  The  j 

epiglottis  is  of  such  a  size  that 
the  finger  does  not  excite  a  de- 
sire to  vomit ;  and  the  pharynx 
and  oesophagus  are  so  lax  that 
the  passage  presents  no  obstruc- 
tion. 

When  the  finger  is  with- 
drawn, the  jaws  ought  to  be 
clapped  together,  and  the  at- 
tention of  the  creature  diverted.  The  tongue  being  pro- 
truded to  lick  the  nose  and  lips  will  certify  that  the  sub- 
stance has  been  swallowed,  and  after  a  caress  or  two  the 
dog  may  be  released.  Large  brutes,  however,  are  not 
thus  easily  mastered.  Creatures  of  this  description  must 
be  cheated,  and  they  fortunately  are  not  so  naturally 
suspicious  as  those  of  the  smaller  kind.  For  months  I 
have  thus  deceived  a  huge,  ferocious,  but  noble  guardian 
of  a  yard,  who  appeared  incapable  of  conceiving  that 
deception  was  being  practised.  The  dog  bolts  its  food, 
and,  unless  the  piece  be  of  unusual  size,  it  is  rarely 
masticated.  The  more  tempting  the  morsel,  the  more 


112  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGLMENT. 


eagerly  is  it  gorged ;  and  a  bit  of  juicy  or  fat  meat,  .cut 
so  as  to  contain  and  cover  the  pill,  ensures  its  being 
swallowed.  Medicine,  however,  which  in  this  manner  is 
to  be  administered,  ought  to  be  perfectly  devoid  of  smell, 
or  for  a  certainty  the  trick  will  be  discovered.  Indeed, 
there  are  but  few  drugs  possessed  of  odour  which  can  be 
long  used  in  dog  practice,  and  even  those  that  are  en- 
dowed with  much  taste  cannot  be  continuously  employed. 
When  the  dog  is  very  ill,  the  intelligent  beast  becomes 
conscious  of  its'  danger,  and  almost  any  kind  or  any  form 
of  medicine  will  be  accepted.  There  is  no  difficulty 
generally  then ;  but  in  chronic  diseases,  that  only  vex 
the  temper  and  scarcely  lower  the  spirit,  the  ingenuity 
will  mostly  need  to  be  exerted.  Some  medicines,  how- 
ever, can  be  dissolved  in  the  water ;  others  may  be 
smeared  upon  the  food ;  and  fortunately  the  majority  of 
those  drugs  appropriate  to  slow  and  inveterate  disorders 
admit  of  being  thus  exhibited.  Fluids  are  perhaps 
more  readily  than  solids  given  to  dogs,  by  the  generality 
of  inexperienced  persons.  To  administer  liquids,  the 


DOGS  !.  THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  113 

jaws  should  not  be  forced  open  and  the  hottle  emptied 
into   the  mouth,    as  when   this   method  is  pursued  the 


greater  portion  will  be  lost.  The  animal's  head  being 
gently  raised,  the  corner  of  the  mouth  should  be  drawn 
aside,  so  as  to  pull  the  cheek  from  the  teeth.  A  kind  of 
funnel  will  thus  be  formed,  and  into  this  a  quantity  of 
the  medicine  equal  to  its  capacity  should  be  poured. 
After  a  little  while  the  fluid  will,  by  its  own  gravity, 
trickle  into  the  pharynx,  and  oblige  the  dog,  however 
unwilling  it  may  be,  to  swallow.  A  second  portion 
should  then  be  given  in  the  like  way,  and  thus,  little  by 
little,  till  the  full  dose  is  consumed.  Often  dogs  treated 
in  this  fashion  swallow  a  draught  very  expeditiously ; 
but  others  will  remain  a  considerable  time  before  they 
deglutate.  Some,  spite  of  every  precaution,  will  manage 
to  reject  the  greater  part,  and  others  will  not  waste  a 
drop.  The  dexterity  of  the  practitioner  makes  some  dif- 
ference ;  but  no  skill  can  ensure  the  drink  being  taken. 


114  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

Patience,  however,  is  here  of  most  avail ;  but  when  the 
mouth  is  full  of  fluid,  by  gently  separating  the  jaws  the 
animal  may  be  caused  to  deglutate. 

Two  pieces  of  tape,  one  passed  behind  the  canine 
teeth  or  tusks  of  the  upper,  and  the  other  in  like  manner 
upon  the  lower  jaw,  have  been  recommended.  -  The  tapes 
are  given  to  an  assistant,  who,  pulling  at  them,  forces  the 
mouth  open,  and  holds  it  in  that  position.  In  certain 
cases  this  may  be  adopted  for  pills  ;  indeed  every  strata- 
gem will  be  needed  to  meet  the  multifarious  circum- 
stances that  will  arise.  For  ordinary  occurrences,  how- 
ever, the  practice  is  not  to  be  commended,  and  should 
never  be  embraced  when  drinks  have  to  be  given  :  the 
animal  cannot  swallow  while  the  jaws  are  held  asunder ; 
but  for  solids  this  plan  answers  better.  There  are  seve- 
ral objections,  however,  to  be  urged  against  its  constant 
use.  The  operation  is  violent,  and  the  restraint  it  neces- 
sitates not  alone  prevents  the  poor  animal  deglutating 
fluids,  but  also  terrifies  the  brute,  who,  on  the  next  occa- 
sion, naturally  is  the  more  resistful.  Difficulties,  there- 
fore, increase,  and  the  dog  generally  is  not  long  before  it 
learns  to  baffle  the  attempt  to  confine  it.  Moreover, 
unless  the  assistant  be  very  well  up  to  his  business,  his 
steadiness  cannot  be  depended  upon,  and  the  hand  often 
is  wounded  by  the  teeth  of  the  patient. 

I  therefore  do  not,  as  a  general  custom,  resort  to  the 
tapes,  and  I  advise  others  only  to  employ  them  upon 
necessity.  There  are  some  creatures  so  artful  and  so 
resolute  that  any  attempt  to  give  them  physic  is  certain 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  115 

to  be  frustrated.  These  are  mostly  small  dogs  that  have 
been  tutored  by  severity,  and  such  animals  are  not  sub- 
dued by  any  amount  of  suffering.  The  poor  beasts  fear 
the  doctor  more  than  the  disease  ;  and,  though  gentle  in 
their  dispositions,  are  resolute  in  their  resistance.  For 
such  cases  I  employ  the  stomach  pump,  and  by  its  aid 
introduce  a  dose  of  sulphate  of  magnesia  ;  for  in  general 
it  is  only  purgatives  that  require  to  be  given  in  bulk. 
Other  drugs  may  be  either  disguised,  or  exhibited  by 
injection.  Enemata  are  of  great  service  to  this  animal, 
and  I  make  much  use  of  them.  In  their  exhibition,  care 
should  always  be  taken  to  introduce  the  pipe  without 
any  force ;  having  previously  greased  the  tube  to  ensure 
its  passing  the  more  readily.  While  the  instrument  is  in 
the  rectum  the  dog  should  be  firmly  held,  else,  in  its 
struggles,  the  intestine  may  be  injured.  The  fluid  should 
be  gently  thrown  up,  even  when  a  large  quantity  is  em- 
ployed. For  those  injections,  however,  which  it  is  desir- 
able to  have  retained,  from  an  ounce  to  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  will  be  sufficient.  Warm  water  ought  not  to  be 
used  as  an  injection,  since  it  washes  away  the  mucus, 
renders  the  intestinal  surface  harsh,  and  prevents  the 
passage  of  the  foeces.  Linseed  tea  or  any  mucilaginous 
fluid  answers  the  purpose  better,  and  a  solution  of  soap 
is  excellent  in  many  cases,  when  only  a  laxative  effect  is 
desired.  The  form,  however,  as  will  in  the  course  of  this 
work  be  explained,  must  be  repeatedly  varied,  since  this 
agent  may  be  rendered  medicinal  or  nutritive. 

Purgatives  are  most  valuable,  but  are  not  free  from 


116  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

danger.  The  digestive  canal  of  the  dog  is  peculiarly 
irritable,  and  no  less  sensitive  to  the  action  of  medicine. 
There  are  few  diseases  in  which  the  stomach  and  intes- 
tines are  not  involved,  and  very  many  in  which  purga- 
tives are  directly  contra-indicated.  No  one  should  get 
into  the  habit  of  thrusting  physic  of  this  nature  down  the 
throats  of  his  animals ;  and  sportsmen  may  rest  assured 
that,  to  the  dog  at  all  events,  preparatory  doses  are  not 
necessary  to  condition.  Those,  however,  who  persist  in 
using  such  stuffs  will  do  well  not  to  employ  the  com- 
pounds in  general  use.  The  mixture  of  poppies,  buck- 
thorn, and  castor  oil  is  a  filthy  mess ;  and  I  do  not 
understand  the  principles  upon  which  the  abomination  is 
based.  A  better  and  more  cleanly  mixture  is  thus  made  : — 

01 :  Ricini 4  parts. 

Ol :  Olivse 2     " 

Ol :  Anisi      .     .     .     .     •    Q.  s.        Mix. 

A  little  pounded  sugar  added  to  this  will  often  render  it 
palatable,  which,  being  of  a  fluid  consistency,  is  without 
difficulty  exhibited.  The  compound,  however,  flows  the 
more  readily  if  it  be  slightly  warmed,  and  in  winter  it 
even  requires  to  be  thus  prepared.  Sulphate  of  magne- 
sia I  rarely  employ  ;  and,  as  a  general  purgative,  it  is 
not  suited  to  the  dog,  though  in  exceptional  cases  it  will 
be  seen  I  recommend  it.  Should  pills  be  preferred,  the 
following  will  be  found  to  answer  every  purpose  : — 

Ext :  Col :     .    .    .     .    Half  a  scruple. 
Pulv :  Colch :    .     .     .     Six  grains. 
Pil :  Hydrarg : .    .    .    Five  grains. 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  117 

This  is  for  one  pill,  which  is  a  dose  for  a  small  dog  of 
seven  or  eight  pounds  weight.  Three  times  the  quantity 
would  be  required  for  a  Newfoundland.  It  is  not  very 
powerful  in  its  action ;  its  effect  upon  the  system  being 
quite  as  much  alterative  as  laxative.  The  animal  under 
its  operation  is  evidently  nauseated,  and  refuses  food  for 
about  twelve  hours  ;  at  the  expiration  of  which  time 
relief  is  afforded  by  a  not  very  copious,  but  bilious  evacua- 
tion. It  is,  however,  important  that,  after  the  adminis- 
tration of  a  purgative,  the  dog  should  be  permitted  to 
remain  perfectly  quiet ;  since,  if  put  to  exercise,  or 
much  excited,  the  medicine  will  in  all  probability  be 
ejected. 

Emetics  are  shamefully  abused,  being  so  universally 
employed  by  the  owners  of  dogs,  and  so  strenuously 
recommended  by  writers  upon  their  treatment,  that  one 
might  think  these  agents  were  held  to  possess  some 
charmed  power  over  the  health  of  the  animal.  Lecturers 
are  marvellously  fluent  upon  the  subject  of  the  dog's 
vomiting,  which  they  dwell  upon  with  such  delight  that 
their  auditors  must  suppose  the  act  of  revulsion  in  the 
canine  species  is  a  pleasurable  performance.  Let  any 
one,  however,  possessed  of  sense  and  reason,  observe  the 
creature  in  the  act  of  being  sick.  The  attitude  is  not 
characterised  by  ease ;  but  the  body  is  drawn  up  pre- 
paratory for  some  unusual  effort.  The  countenance  does 
not  bespeak  tranquillity  ;  but  the  face  is  expressive  of 
inward  oppression.  The  animal's  frame  is  shaken  by 
convulsive  spasms,  each  throe  being  announced  by  a  deep 


118  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

pectoral  sound,  and  only  after  this  has  repeatedly  been 
heard  is  the  stomach  able  to  cast  off  its  contents. 

The  description  denotes  nothing  calculated  to  suggest 
that  the  organ  whose  derangement  is  so  marked  should 
be  rudely  tampered  with.  It  is  true  the  dog  can  readily 
be  made  to  vomit.  No  creature  is  more  easily  moved  in 
that  way ;  but  in  such  a  circumstance  reason  should  per- 
ceive no  license  to  thrust  emetics  down  the  animal's 


throat.  The  organ  which  is  so  readily  excited,  by  the 
fact  asserts  its  sensibility,  and  on  that  very  account  ought 
to  be  the  more  respected.  I  have  found  oftener  difficulty 
to  check  this  tendency  than  reason  to  provoke  it.  Re- 
peatedly are  tonics  rejected,  and  only  by  the  reduction 
of  the  dose  can  the  dog's  stomach  be  made  to  retain  the 
medicine.  The  emetics  in  common  use  are,  moreover,  far 
too  violent.  Antimonial  wine,  from  half  a  teaspoonful  to 
a  dessertspoonful,  is  much  preferable  to  tartar  emetic  and 
calomel. 

On  no  account  should  such  doses  as  Blaine  prescribes 
ever  be  exhibited.  Youatt  in  his  recommendation  is 
much  better,  but  even  the  amount  he  orders  is  too  great. 


DOGS'.     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  119 

A  quarter  of  a  grain  of  tartar  emetic  in  solution  is  suffi- 
cient for  a  middling  sized  dog ;  and  four  grains  of  ipeca- 
cuanha is  equally  effective.  If  in  two  hours  (which  rarely 
happens)  no  effect  is  produced,  it  is  better  to  repeat  the 
dose,  and  continue  even  to  do  so,  than  to  commence  with 
a  larger  quantity  in  the  first  instance.  These  animals  in 
their  constitutions  are  so  various,  and  the  practitioner  has 
so  little  to  guide  his  judgment,  that  the  utmost  caution 
will  not  in  every  instance  protect  him  from  self-reproach  ; 
and  in  no  case  is  he  warranted  in  closing  his  mind  against 
the  suggestions  of  prudence.  It  is  true  the  primary  effects 
of  an  emetic  are  generally  gratifying,  but  the  after  conse- 
quences, if  carefully  traced,  will  not  be  found  to  be  equally 
satisfactory.  Often  the  purge  and  the  vomit,  with  which 
every  dabbler  commences  his  treatment  of  a  "  dog-case," 
appear  to  give  relief;  but,  commonly,  when  the  immedi- 
ate excitation  which  their  first  operation  naturally  calls 
forth  passes  away,  debility  ensues,  and  the  termination  is 
not  in  harmony  with  the  beginning.  I  once  was  very 
partial  to  emetics.  I  now  rarely  make  use  of  them,  and 
have  no  reason  to  lament  my  change  of  practice. 

No  notice  will  be  bestowed  upon  those  mysterious  com- 
pounds known  as  alteratives,  sedatives,  &c.,  which  are 
given  merely  because  habit  has  sanctioned  their  administra- 
tion. Names  are  in  medicine  dangerous  things,  and  give  a 
currency  to  error  which,  to  man  and  beast  alike,  has 
proved  fatal.  Neither  will  any  attempt  be  made  to 
classify  diseases ;  which  custom,  though  it  has  some 
advantages,  is  likely  to  mislead,  by  setting  up  a  system 


120  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

where  no  positive  connexion  can  be  demonstrated.  The 
disorders  of  the  dog  in  this  work  will  be  treated  of  after 
no  formal  plan ;  but  the  index  must  supply  that  want  of 
arrangement,  the  absence  of  pretence  to  which  probably 
will  give  offence  to  regular  students. 


DISTEMPER. 

OF  all  the  diseases  to  which  the  dog  is  subject,  this 
one  is  the  most  dreaded.  Writers  have  agreed  it  is  the 
scourge  of  the  canine  race.  Blaine  and  Youatt  speak  of 
it  as  capricious  and  untractable ;  the  French  regard  it  as 
incurable.  The  owners  of  dogs,  despairing  of  benefit 
from  regular  means,  have  for  a  long  time  been  content 
to  trust  in  charms  and  specifics.  Folly  and  cruelty  have 
been  embraced  to  accomplish  that  which  kindness  and 
science  appear  unequal  to  perform  ;  and  one  general 
feeling  seems  to  be  entertained  with  regard  to  the  dis- 
temper— most  persons  being  agreed  that  the  disorder  is 
not  to  be  subdued  by  medicine,  and  that  its  fatality  is 
independent  of  the  best  efforts  of  man  to  check  it. 

My  experience  does  not  corroborate  these  various  but 
harmonious  accounts  and  opinions.  In  my  conviction, 
the  disorder  is  feared  only  because  it  is  not  understood, 
and  is  rendered  worse  by  the  injudicious  attempts  to 
relieve  it.  I  find  it  tractable,  easily  mastered,  and  when 
submitted  to  me  before  the  system  is  exhausted,  I  am 
very  seldom  disappointed  by  the  result  of  my  treatment. 
It  has  for  some  time  been  iny  custom  to  tell  those  who 


DOGS*.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  121 

bring  me  an  animal  affected  with  this  complaint,  that  if 
my  directions  are  strictly  followed,  the  creature  "  shall 


not  die"  When  saying  this,  I  pretend  not  to  have  life 
or  death  at  my  command,  and  the  mildest  affections  will 
sometimes  terminate  fatally  ;  but  I  merely  mean  to  imply, 
that  when  proper  measures  are  adopted,  distemper  is  less 
likely  to  destroy  than  the  majority  of  those  diseases  to 
which  the  dog  is  liable. 

Distemper  has  been  hitherto  regarded  as  an  inflamma- 
tory disorder,  which  was  to  be  conquered  only  by 
antiphlogistic  remedies.  Bleeding,  purging,  vomiting, 
sedatives,  blisters,  and  setons  were  employed ;  and  the 
more  acute  the  attack,  the  more  violent  were  the  means 
resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  its  conquest.  Under  such 
treatment  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  evil  character  which 
the  malady  has  obtained ;  for  in  proportion  as  the  efforts 
made  were  great,  so  would  be  the  probability  of  the 
disease  proving  destructive.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
more  dogs  have  been  killed  for  the  distemper  than  would 

6 


122  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

have  died  from  it  if  nature  had  been  suffered  to  take  her 
course ;  and  yet  there  is  no  disease  that  more  requires 
help,  or  rewards  the  practitioner  more  largely  for  the 
assistance  he  affords. 

The  reader  is  entrc&tcd  to  dismiss  from  his  mind  all  he 
may  have  read,  or  heard,  or  thought  of  this  affection. 
Let  the  many  tales  about  never-failing  receipts,  and  the 
only  proper  modes  of  treatment,  be  for  a  time  at  all 
events  forgotten,  that  the  author,  who  undertakes  to  op- 
pose prejudice  and  to  contradict  authority,  may  at  least 
have  a  patient  hearing.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  many  cases  which  have  been  called  distemper  have, 
to  all  appearance,  been  saved  by  each  of  the  reputed 
methods  of  cure.  A  pillet  of  tobacco,  a  tea-spoonful  of 
salt,  a  dose  of  castor  oil,  an  emetic,  rubbing  the  nose  with 
syrup  of  buckthorn,  &c.,  &c.,  or  anything  that  is  famed 
for  the  purpose,  may  have  often  seemed  to  check  the  dis- 
ease ;  but  no  one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  depend 
on  these  charms  can  deny  he  has  frequently  witnessed 
their  failure.  That  they  should  sometimes  have  seemed 
to  do  good  is  easily  explained.  In  the  first  place,  there 
are  very  few  persons  who  know  how  to  recognise  the 
early  symptoms  of  the  malady ;  but  it  is  usual  for  every 
young  dog  that  is  a  little  poorly  to  be  pronounced  sick 
with  the  distemper. 

The  unfounded  belief  that  all  of  these  animals  must 
have  the  disease  makes  every  one  anticipate  its  advent, 
and  tempts  them  to  call  every  ailment  by  the  name  sug- 
gested by  their  expectations.  Two-thirds,  at  least,  of 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  123 

the  cases  which  are  so  quickly  cured  by  nostrums  and 
specifics  would  on  inquiry  prove  to  have  been  mistaken ; 
and  as,  in  the  instances  where  a  single  dose  is  depended 
upon,  nature  is  pretty  much  left  to  herself,  the  chances 
are  that  a  fair  share  of  the  rest  would  get  well  of  them- 
selves. The  recovery,  however,  could  in  no  way  be 
expedited  by  that  which  is  credited  for  its  accomplish- 
ment ;  since  the  little  done  is  mostly  calculated  to  aggra- 
vate and  not  to  alleviate  the  symptoms,  while  there  is  no 
possibility  it  should  eradicate  the  disorder. 

In  its  character,  distemper  approaches  very  near  to 
"  continued  fever  "  in  the  human  subject ;  the  chief  dif- 
ference being  consequent  upon  the  more  delicate  consti- 
tution and  more  irritable  temperament  of  the  dog,  which 
prevents  the  two  diseases  from  appearing  exactly  the 
same.  It  consists  in  a  general  fever,  which  produces  a 
morbid  excitement  of  all  the  mucous  membranes.  The 
digestive  track  is  the  principal  seat  of  the  disease,  but  of 
course  its  presence  is  most  easily  recognised  at  those 
parts  which  are  most 'exposed  to  view.  Thus  the  mem- 
brane of  the  eye,  being  a  comparatively  large  surface, 
and  by  its  delicacy  well  calculated  to  denote  every 
variation  of  the  system,  is  usually  the  first  observed,  and 
often  the  only  place  inspected.  If  this  be  cloudy  or 
watery,  the  nature  of  the  malady  is  at  once  concluded ; 
the  membrane  of  the  nose  also,  though  less  palpable,  is 
under  observation ;  and  if  its  secretion  be  copious  and 
opaque,  the  fact  is  generally  imagined  to  be  established. 
The  alterations,  however,  exhibited  by  these  membranes 


124  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

are  no  more  than  sympathetic  derangements,  they 
being  continuous  with  the  more  important  organs ;  and 
when  proofs  are  found  in  the  eyes  or  nose,  the  disorder 
is  generally  confirmed,  or  has  taken  hold  of  the  system. 
Some  have  supposed  the  disease  originated  in  the  nose, 
and  thence  extended  to  other  parts ;  now  I  shall  not 
stop  here  to  consider  so  groundless  an  hypothesis.  It 
essentially  is  fever  affecting  the  entire  of  the  mucous 
surfaces,  but  especially  those  of  the  alimentary  canal. 

The  causes  cannot  be  well  ascertained.  Contagion 
has  been  by  the  majority  of  writers  supposed  to  be  its 
principal  source,  but  I  cannot  say  my  experience  has 
corroborated  that  opinion.  My  own  little  cur  never  had 
the  distemper,  and  yet  she  lived  where  the  disease  was 
scarcely  ever  absent.  Animals  virulently  affected  were 
daily  brought  to  me,  and  not  a  few  were  left  in  my 
charge.  From  these  she  was  not  kept  separate ;  they 
were  her  acquaintances  and  companions ;  she  played 
with  them,  and  often  by  choice  shared  their  beds;  and 
nevertheless  she  died  without  exhibiting  the  disease  I 
do  not  generally  put  those  dogs  by  themselves  which  are 
affected  with  distemper ;  yet  I  cannot  bring  to  mind  the 
instance  of  an  animal  while  under  my  care  having  caught 
the  disorder.  I  doubt  whether  there  is  any  justice  in  the 
general  opinion.  It  would  be  hard  to  prove  the  prevail- 
ing notion  was  a  prejudice,  yet  there  can  be  ho  doubt 
that  it  is  much  more  insisted  upon  than  it  deserves 
to  be. 

With  regard  to  other  causes,  I  know  of  none.     I  have 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  125 

not  been  able  to  observe  that  any  circumstance  can  in- 
duce the  disease,  though  at  particular  ages  the  animals 
are  predisposed  to  its  exhibition. 

During  the  latter  period  of  dentition — that  is,  when 
the  second  set  of  incisors  are  well  up,  and  the  permanent 
tusks  are  about  half-grown,  the  temporary  ones  being 
still  retained — is  the  time  when  pups  are  most  disposed 
to  display  this  disorder.  I  cannot  state  the  precise  age, 
because  mouths  are  not  regular  in  their  appearances  even 
as  to  mouths  ;  but  the  aspect  of  the  teeth  will  sufficiently 
mark  the  period  when  an  individual  may  be  expected  to 
be  attacked.  The  season  certainly,  in  no  little  degree, 
influences  the  disease.  In  winter  it  is  not  usually  seen  ; 
in  the  spring  it  is  more  common  ;  in  summer  is  rare,  but 
less  so  than  in  winter.  During  the  autumn,  however, 
especially  if  much  rain  should  fall,  it  is  very  frequent, 
and  always  more  prevalent  than  at  any  other  periods. 
Spring  and  autumn,  therefore,  are  the  times  when  it  is  to 
be  looked  for,  but  in  the  latter  it  is  to  be  anticipated. 

When  treating  of  a  subject  like  the  present,  there 
would  seem  to  be  a  disposition  to  string  together  a  number 
of  words  which  do  duty  for  information.  Cold,  wet,  bad 
food,  foul  air,  excessive  exertion,  fear,  &c.,  are  grouped 
together,  and  put  forth  for  almost  every  "  ill  that  flesh 
is  heir  to  ;"  but  I  have  to  learn  that  these  accepted  terms 
have  any  connexion  with  the  development  of  this  disorder. 
Dogs  that  are  starved,  neglected,  and  cruelly  tortured — 
animals  that  are  judiciously  fed,  properly  housed,  and 
sensibly  treated — as  well  as  favorites  that  are  crammed, 


120  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

nursed,  and  humored — all  equally  are  its  victims  ;  and 
those  which  are  most  cared  for  fall  most  frequently,  while 
those  which  are  least  prized  more  generally  survive.  If, 
therefore,  privation  or  exposure  be  of  any  importance, 

the  facts  seem  to  infer  their  tendencies  are  either  to  check 

%> 

or  mitigate  the  attack. 

Exercise  and  food,  however,  do  influence  the  complaint. 
The  dog  that  is  free  suffers  much  less  severely  than  the 
one  that  is  confined.  The  animal  that  never  tastes  flesh 
has  a  much  lighter  attack  than  the  one  which  subsists 
entirely  upon  meat.  This  last  fact  I  have  often  proved. 
When  the  distemper  has  made  its  appearance,  the  oppor- 
tunity for  changing  the  diet  has  passed  away.  We  have, 
then,  only  a  choice  of  dangers.  To  remove  the  flesh  to 
which  the  animal  is  accustomed  is  to  cause  it  to  pine  and 
to  weaken  the  strength,  at  a  time  when  vigor  is  of  every 
importance  ;  whereas  to  continue  the  meat  is  mostly 
certain  death  ;  in  this  position  I  generally  take  away 
the  flesh,  for  by  so  doing  I  give  the  patient  a  chance  of 
recovery  ;  and  however  desperate  that  chance  may  be, 
nevertheless  it  is  to  be  much  preferred  to  no  chance  at 
all. 

The  symptoms  in  the  very  early  stage  are  not  well 
marked  or  by  any  means  distinguished  for  their  regularity. 
They  may  assume  almost  any  form  ;  dulness  and  loss  of 
appetite,  purging,  or  vomiting,  are  very  frequently  the 
first  indications.  The  more  than  usual  moisture  of  the 
eyes,  and  a  short  cough,  are  often  the  earliest  signs  that 
attract  attention.  In  the  bitch  a  desire  for  copulation, 


DOGS*.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  127 

with  a  disinclination  to  accept  the  dog,  is  to  be  regarded 
with  suspicion ;  as  is  also  a  display  of  peevishness  and  a 
wish  to  he  undisturbed  in  full-grown  animals.  These 
things  denote  no  more  than  the  derangement  of  the  sys- 
tem ;  but  if,  conjoined  with  them,  the  inner  surface  of 
the  lower  eyelid  should  appear  to  be  more  red  than  usual, 
and  the  pulse  should  be  increased  in  number  without 
being  materially  altered  in  character — ranging  from  one 
hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  in  puppies , 
and  in  dogs  from  one  hundred  and  ten  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five — the  probability  of  distemper  maMng  its 
appearance  is  the  greater,  though  even  then  by  no  means 
certain. 

The  period  of  the  year,  however,  will  also  have  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  ;  and  inquiry  should  always  be 
made  whether  any  animals  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood are  known  to  have  exhibited  the  disorder  ;  because 
the  disease  is  then  proved  to  be  in  the  locality.  At  this 
stage  the  practitioner  is  always  more  or  less  in  the  dark  ; 
and  therefore  he  contents  himself  with  such  measures  as 
he  concludes  are  adapted  to  the  symptoms,  and  waits  for 
further  instructions  which  nature  will  speedily  develope. 

When  the  disease  is  established,  the  animal  is  sensitive 
to  cold.  It  seeks  warmth,  and  is  constantly  shivering ; 
when  taken  hold  of,  it  is  felt  to  tremble  violently,  so 
much  so  that  the  pul^e  cannot  be  accurately  counted. 
The  bowels  are  generally  constipated.  A  thick  purulent 
discharge  flows  from  the  eyes  ;  and  the  white  around  the 
eye,  if  the  upper  lid  be  retracted,  will  be  seen  covered 


128  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

with  numerous  small  and  bright  red  vessels,  giving  to  the 
part  the  appearance  of  acute  inflammation.  The  vessels 
now  spoken  of  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  veins 
which  are  natural  to  this  organ.  These  last  are  large, 
and  of  a  purple  hue,  while  ttieir  course  is  in  the  direction 
of  the  circumference  of  the  cornea.  The  small  vessels, 
indicative  of  distemper,  are  fine,  bright  in  color,  and  their 
course  is  towards  the  centre,  or  in  a  line  directly  the 
opposite  to  that  indicated  by  the  veins.  They  are  never 
present  during  health,  though  they  are  often  to  be  wit- 
nessed in  other  diseases  besides  that  which  is  here  treated 
of.  A  glairy  mucus,  or  yellow  fluid,  moistens  the  nostrils, 
and  if  the  ear  be  applied  to  the  head,  the  breathing  will 
be  discovered  to  be  accompanied  with  an  unusual  sound. 
The  cough  is  often  severe  and  frequent ;  it  is  sometimes 
spasmodic — the  fits  being  almost  convulsive,  and  termi- 
nating with  the  ejection  of  a  small  quantity  of  yellow 
frothy  liquid,  which  is  thrown  off  by  the  stomach.  The 
digestion  is  always  impaired,  and  sickness  is  not  unusual ; 
the  matter  vomited  having  an  offensive  smell,  and  never 
being  again  consumed  by  the  animal,  as  is  generally  the 
case  when  the  creature  is  in  health.  The  nose  is  dry 
and  harsh  ;  the  coat  staring  and  devoid  of  gloss  :  the 
skin  hotter  than  is  customary,  and  the  paws  warm.  The 
pulse  is  perhaps  quicker  by  twenty  beats  than  during  the 
prior  stage,  but  less  full — the  artery  feeling  sharp,  short, 
and  thin  under  the  finger. 

When  the  symptoms  described  are  apparent,  the  dis- 
temper is  easily  recognised,  but  it  is  not  likely  to  con- 


DOGS!     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  129 

timie  stationary  for  any  long  period.  In  the  course  of  a 
week  it  generally  changes  its  character,  and  sometimes 
appears  to  subside  altogether  ;  the  cases  in  which  the 
disease  steadily  progresses,  becoming  day  by  day  more 
severe,  being  comparatively  rare. 

When  no  abatement  is  witnessed,  the  case  is  not  to  be 
despaired  of,  but  it  requires  to  be  anxiously  watched; 
for  often  it  will  take  a  sudden  turn,  sometimes  favor- 
able, but  more  frequently  demanding  immediate  assist- 
ance to  prevent  a  fatal  termination.  The  symptoms 
become  aggravated.  The  eyes  are  clogged  by  a  thick 
matter  which  glues  the  lids  together,  especially  in  the 
morning.  The  nostrils  are  plugged  up  by  an  accumula- 
tion of  tenacious  discharge,  which  becomes  encrusted 
over  the  lips  and  nose,  and  impedes  the  breathing.  The 
body  rapidly  wastes,  though  the  appetite  may  return, 
and  even  be  voracious.  The  shivering  is  constant.  The 
dog  seeks  repose  and  is  disinclined  to  move  ;  though  at 
times  it  may  be  playful,  and  in  some  instances  will  never 
exhibit  any  diminution  of  spirit.  The  cough  may  con- 
tinue ;  but  it  more  often  ceases,  or  is  only  heard  at  irre- 
gular and  distant  intervals.  The  animal  makes  repeated 
and  desperate  efforts  to  expel  the  accumulated  matter 
from  the  nose,  and  uses  its  paws  evidently  with  an  inten- 
tion to  remove  the  annoyance.  Day  by  day,  if  not 
attended  to,  these  signs  grow  more  aggravated  ;  the 
breath  becomes  very  offensive  ;  ulcers  appear  on  the 
lips ;  the  eyes  become  white  ;  the  discharge  from  the 
nostrils  changes  its  color,  and  is  mingled  with  blood 

G* 


130  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

and  scabs,  having  an  offensive  odor.  The  creature  at 
last  begins  to  "  yap,"  or  utter  short  sharp  cries.  It 
becomes  more  weak,  till  at  length  it  cannot  walk,  but 
lies  upon  its  side  ;  the  noise  being  continued  for  hours, 
and  then  ceasing  only  to  be  again  commenced.  Consti- 
pation has  usually  been  present,  but  at  last  diarrhrea  sets 
in ;  the  faeces  have  that  peculiar  smell  which  in  the  dog 
is  characteristic  of  the  latest  stage  of  all ;  and  gradually 
death,  without  a  seeming  struggle,  closes  the  scene  of 
suffering. 

More  frequently — indeed,  in  the  majority  of  cases — 
the  distemper  is  hardly  well  developed  before  it  all  at 
once  seems  to  disappear.  This  peculiarity  in  the  disor- 
der has  no  doubt  given  strength  to  the  general  faith  in 
specifics  for  this  disease.  The  animal  suddenly  so  far 
recovers,  or  appears  to  recover,  after  having  been  seri- 
ously affected,  that  the  inexperienced  naturally  conclude 
the  dog  is  either  quite  well,  or  evidently  so  far  cured 
that  the  efficacy  of  the  remedy  administered  is  not  to  bs 
disputed.  For  two  or  three  weeks  this  deceptive  appear- 
ance may  continue,  and  in  some  cases  no  return  of  the 
symptoms  may  be  witnessed ;  but  in  the  majority  of 
instances  the  disorder  is  only  dormant,  and  again  starts 
up  as  if  it  had  been  strengthened  by  its  treacherous 
repose.  The  running  from  the  nose  comes  back  in  ex- 
cessive quantities,  and  either  the  bowels  are  singly  in- 
flamed, or  with  them  the  brain  is  involved,  and  fits  or 
diarrhoea,  or  both  united,  speedily  terminate  in  death,  to 
arrest  which  medicine  has  seldom  the  power.  The  loss 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  131 

is  on  these  occasions  rarely  attributed  to  distemperr 
which  is  thought  to  have  been  subdued  ;  but  death  is 
commonly  set  down  to  fits,  or  to  poison,  or  to  inflamma- 
tion of  the  bowels,  or  to  anything  else  which  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  proprietor  may  conceive.  Hence  we  get 
an  insight  into  the  value  of  a  large  number,  and  perhaps 
into  all,  of  the  reputed  nostrums  ;  and  hence  it  is  the 
more  necessary  the  reader  should  be  made  aware  of 
those  indications  which  denote  the  virus  is  not  eradi- 
cated, but  only  latent  as  it  were,  lurking,  to  spring  with 
greater  certainty  upon  its  victim.  No  one  must  conclude 
the  distemper  is  mastered  if  the  dog  continues  to  lose 
flesh,  or  if  the  animal  does  not  rapidly  repair  the  waste 
consequent  upon  the  earlier  stages  of  the  disorder.  This 
tendency  to  stand  still  or  decline  should  be  carefully 
observed,  and  it  will  seldom  deceive.  When  it  is  re- 
marked, or  even  suspected,  let  the  owner  be  upon  his 
guard.  When  the  distemper  is  actually  overcome,  there 
is  a  marked  disposition  to  fatten  ;  indeed,  so  strong  is  it 
at  this  time  that,  should  it  not  be  evident,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  cause,  especially  if  a  short  and  slight 
attack  of  the  disorder  has  been  known  to  have  occurred 
a  little  time  before.  A  warning,  equally  clear  to  those 
who  will  look  for  and  can  read  it,  is  to  be  obtained  from 
the  eyes.  These  may  be  bright,  and  even  peculiarly 
transparent ;  the  face  have  a  more  animated  expression 
than  it  displayed  during  previous  health  ;  but  if  the  eye- 
lids are  retracted,  the  membranes  will  be  found  red,  and 
the  vessels  before  observed  upon  will  be  seen  running 


132  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

over  the  white  of  the  eye.  When  these  things  are  pre- 
sent, although  the  coat  may  be  beautifully  smooth,  the 
discharge  dried  up,  the  shivering  gone,  the  appetite 
strong,  and  the  spirits  boisterous,  still  there  is  in  the 
system  the  seeds  of  a  disease  which  at  no  distant  period 
will  reappear  in  its  most  dangerous  form. 

Commonly,  after  the  second  stage,  there  is  an  abatement 
cf  the  symptoms,  without  any  actual  cessation  in  the  dis- 
charges. The  dog  is  concluded  to  be  better,  and  thought 
to  be  doing  well,  but  it  will  not  be  long  before  something 
to  excite  alarm  is  witnessed.  The  eyes  or  nerves,  or 
lungs  or  liver,  or  stomach  or  intestines  may  be  attacked ; 
or  a  pustular  eruption,  or  actual  mange,  or  a  disposition 
in  the  animal  to  eat  its  own  flesh,  or  choroea,  or  paralysis 
may  appear,  and  all  of  these  possible  varieties  require  to 
Le  separately  dwelt  upon. 

The  eyes  lose  their  transparency,  the  surface  is  white 
and  opaque,  the  sight  is  impaired,  and  the  lids  are  nearly 
constantly  closed.  One  or  both  of  the  organs  of  vision 
may  be  thus  affected ;  usually  the  two  are  simultaneously 
a.Tected,  but  seldom  with  the  like  intensity.  After  a  few 
days,  and  sometimes  at  the  commencement,  a  small  cir- 
cular depression  is  to  be  seen  upon  the  very  centre  of  the 
eyeball.  It  is  round,  and  varies  in  size  from  that  of  a 
j.!n's  head  to  that  of  a  small  pea,  but  rarely  becomes 
1  .rger.  The  depression,  if  nothing  be  done  to  check  it, 
deepens  till  a  little  shallow  pit  is  exhibited.  At  other 
t!:nes  the  hole  grows  larger  and  deeper,  till  the  outer 
i  >vering  of  the  eye  is  absorbed,  or,  in  common  phrase,  is 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  133 

eaten  through,  and  the  water  escapes :  this  gives  relief. 
If,  however,  the  animal  survives,  the  eye  is  often  perfectly 
restored,  though  very  frequently  a  white  speck  marks 
the  spot  which  was  ulcerated ;  or  the  dog  is  left  with 
weakened  eyes,  and  has  a  tendency  to  cataract,  which 
may  ultimately  render  it  blind. 

The  affection  of  the  lungs  is  denoted  by  the  dog 
breathing  more  quickly,  and  often  making  a  small  plain- 
tive or  whistling  noise  during  respiration.  Though  cough 
is  quite  as  often  absent  as  present ;  but  if  present  it  is 
usually  severe ;  the  pulse  is  increased,  but  small  and 
thready,  and  the  appetite  may  not  be  impaired.  The 
animal  is,  however,  disinclined  to  move ,  if  put  down  at 
liberty,  it  always  gets  into  some  place  where  it  hopes  to 
be  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed.  As  the  symptoms 
become  more  intense,  the  animal  constantly  sits  upon  its 
haunches ;  but  I  have  not  seen  it  carry  the  head  erect, 
although  authors  state  this  to  be  one  of  the  indications. 
There  is  a  desire  for  fresh  air,  and  the  dog  will  always 
leave  the  house,  or  get  to  the  window  or  door,  if  he  have 
an  opportunity  of  so  doing.  These  signs  are  hardly  to 
be  mistaken,  b  it  they  are  easily  confirmed.  If  the  ear 
be  applied  to  the  side  of  a  healthy  dog's  chest,  no  sound 
can  be  detected  ;  but  when  the  lungs  are  diseased,  a  very 
plain  noise  is  readily  heard.  The  presence,  therefore,  of 
any  murmur,  or  of  anything  like  air  escaping  over  a  dry 
rough  surface,  is  indicative  of  disease,  and  the  certainty 
that  the  lungs  are  involved  is  confirmed. 

Dogs  of  late  years  have  not  commonly  died  of  pneu- 


134  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

monia  during  the  distemper ;  but  authors  speak  of  the 
pulmonary  form  of  the  disorder  as  having  formerly  been 
a  common  cause  of  death.  I  know  it  only  as  a  mild  varia- 
tion of  the  ordinary  symptoms.  It  has  not  in  any  case 
under  my  observation  proved  fatal,  but  has  readily  yielded 
to  gentle  measures,  aided  by  attention  to  simple  diet. 

The  liver  is  generally  involved.  After  the  termina- 
tion of  a  fatal  case,  this  gland  is  found  either  soft  or  more 
brittle  than  it  ought  to  be,  else  it  is  discovered  much 
enlarged.  I  never  saw  it  of  less  than  its  natural  size. 
Generally  it  is  discolored,  mostly  of  a  pale  tint ;  which 
sometimes  exists  all  over  the  organ,  though  the  pendu- 
lous edges  of  the  lobes  are  very  generally  seen  of  the 
bright  red,  suggestive  of  inflammation.  The  gall-blad- 
der is  always  distended  with  a  thin  dark-green  fluid  or 
impure  bile  ;  and  a  large  quantity  of  the  same  secretion, 
but  of  greater  consistency,  is  distributed  over  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  anterior  intestines.  The  liver  obvious- 
ly is  the  cause  of  the  yellow  distemper,  which  is  no  more 
than  jaundice  added  to  the  original  and  pre-existing  dis- 
ease. Yellow  distemper  is  by  writers  treated  of  as  a 
distinct  disorder,  but  I  have  not  yet  met  with  it  in  that 
form.  When  it  has  come  under  my  notice,  it  has  been 
no  more  than  one  of  the  many  complications  which  the 
symptoms  are  liable  to  assume.  The  dog  has  been  ill 
before  his  skin  became  discolored ;  but  the  eyes  not  ex- 
hibiting that  ordinary  discharge  which  denotes  the  true 
character  of  the  affection  under  which  he  labored,  the 
distemper  was  not  detected. 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  135 

Everything  concerning  distemper  is  by  the  generality 
of  the  public  misunderstood.  Most  people  imagine  a 
dog  can  have  the  distemper  but  once  in  its  life  ;  whereas 
I  had  a  patient  that  underwent  three  distinct  attacks  in 
one  autumn,  that  of  1849.  The  majority  of  persons  who 
profess  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  dog  will  tell  you 
distemper  is  a  disorder  peculiar  to  the  young  ;  whereas  I 
know  of  no  age  that  i#  exempt  from  its  attack.  I  have 
known  dogs,  high-bred  favorites,  to  be  left  with  men 
selected  because  of  their  supposed  familiarity  with  dog 
diseases ;  and  these  very  men  have  brought  to  me  the 
animals  in  the  fits  which  are  the  wind-up  of  distemper, 
yet  notwithstanding  have  been  ignorant  that  their 
charges  had  any  disease  whatever.  All  the  stages  and 
symptoms  of  ordinary  distemper  may  appear  and  depart 
unnoticed ;  but  it  is  widely  different  with  yellow  distem- 
per, for  when  the  yellowness  appears,  it  is  so  marked 
that  no  description  of  a  peculiar  symptom  need  be  in- 
serted, since  it  cannot  be  overlooked  or  mistaken.  It  is 
attended  with  excessive  debility,  and,  unless  properly 
combated,  is  rapidly  fatal. 

The  stomach  and  intestines  are  always  involved  ;  I 
have  never  known  a  case  in  which  either  escaped.  The 
affection  of  the  first  is  generally  shown  by  sickness 
during  the  earliest  stage  ;  when  also  the  derangement 
of  the  last  is  denoted  by  either  costiveness  or  relaxation, 
the  bowels  never  being  perfectly  regular;  towards  the 
latter  stages,  or  about  the  third  or  fourth  week,  the  appe- 
tite sometimes  becomes  enormous ;  the  craving  for  food 


136  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

is  then  unnatural,  and  is  so  intense  that  no  quantity  can 
appease  the  hunger.  The  animal  will  eat  anything  ;  dry 
«  bread  is  taken  with  avidity,  and  stones,  cinders,  straw, 
and  every  species  of  filth  are  eaten  with  apparent  relish. 
Such,  however,  is  not  always  the  case,  since  it  is  not 
unusual  for  the  appetite  entirely  to  fail.  In  either  in- 
stance the  dog  rapidly  wastes  ;  the  flesh  seems  to  melt 
as  it  were  away,  and  the  change  produced  by  a  few  days 
is  startling ;  from  having  been  fat,  a  thinness  which  ex- 
poses every  bone  is  witnessed  in  a  shorter  time  than 
would  be  supposed  possible.  At  this  period  vomiting 
may  come  on  ;  but  when  the  animal  is  morbidly  rave- 
nous, the  stomach  does  not  generally  reject  its  contents. 
After  death  I  have  found  it  loaded  with  the  most  irritat- 
ing substances,  and  always  acutely  inflamed  ;  but  no 
sickness  in  any  instance  of  this  kind  has  been  observed. 
Vomiting  is  most  generally  absent,  but  the  protruded  and 
reddened  appearance  of  the  anus  will  give  a  clue  to  the 
actual  condition  of  the  alimentary  tube.  -  The  stomach  is 
inflamed,  not  throughout,  but  in  various  parts  which  are 
in  different  stages  of  disease.  The  pyloric  orifice  is 
always  more  affected  than  the  cardiac  ;  the  duodenum, 
jejunum,  and  ileum,  are  inflamed  ;  the  caecum  is  enlarged, 
inflamed,  and  generally  impacted.  The  rectum,  however, 
suffers  most  severely ;  it  is  much  reddened  and  thick- 
ened, often  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  I  have  known 
blood  to  be  exuded  from  the  surface  of  this  bowel  in 
such  quantities  as  to  destroy  the  life  from  actual  hemor- 
rhage. In  one  case,  however,  a  spaniel  vomited  more 


DOGS!    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  137 

than  half-a-pint  of  blood  previous  to  its  death,  which 
took  place  two  hours  afterwards.  A  small  quantity  of 
blood  is  ordinarily  passed  with  the  faeces  toward  the 
latter  stage  ;  but  in  several  cases  a  large  amount,  of  pure 
blood,  partly  coagulated  and  unmingled  with  any  faecal 
matter,  has  flowed  from  the  body  in  a  continued  stream, 
to  which  there  will  be  cessation  only  as  death  approach- 
es. The  possibility  of  this  occurring  will  give  the  reader 
some  idea  of  the  extent  and  degree  in  which  the  bowels 
are  or  may  be  diseased ;  the  symptoms,  nevertheless,  are 
not  such  as  would  suggest  the  danger  which  may  be 
short  If  violently  exemplified.  Irregularity  of  the  intes- 
tines may  be  remarked  ;  but  it  is  not  so  characterised  as 
to  force  itself  upon  the  attention.  The  belly  during  dis- 
temper mostly  appears  tucked  up  and  small ;  the  intes- 
tines, even  when  costiveness  exists,  are  seldom  loaded, 
but  all  except  the  rectum  may  feel  empty.  The  animal 
is  always  bound  when  the  bowels  are  acutely  attacked. 
The  first  indication  we  get  of  this  is  often  colic.  The 
cries  are  high  and  yet  full  at  first ;  but  they  only  occur 
at  periods,  between  which  the  dog  seems  easy  and  in- 
clined to  sleep ;  gradually  the  exclamations  become  more 
sharp  and  short,  a  quantity  of  dark- coloured  faeces  are 
voided,  and  relief  is  for  a  time  experienced ;  the  cries, 
however,  return  and  become  continuous ;  diarrhoea  sets 
in ;  the  excretions  become  more  and  more  liquid,  by 
degrees  mixed  with  blood,  and  of  a  lighter  color.  When- 
ever they  are  discharged,  pain  is  expressed ;  but  as  the 
animal  sinks  the  cries  grow  less  frequent,  till  at  last  the 


138  DOGS'    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

excrements  pass  involuntarily,  and  death  soon  takes 
place. 

The  cries,  however,  are  not  heard  in  every  instance 
even  of  this  kind,  and  the  abdomen  is  not  generally 
sensitive  to  pressure.  When  the  helly  is  handled,  the 
dog,  by  contracting  the  muscles  covering  the  parts,  may 
denote  some  small  degree  of  resistance  ;  but  I  have  never 
known  it  to  struggle  during  the  operation.  The  curving 
of  the  spine,  the  occasional  looks  towards  the  seat  of 
agony,  and  the  efforts  made  to  press  or  draw  the  belly 
upon  the  ground,  will  indicate  the  inflammatory  charac- 
ter and  the  locality  of  the  disease.  The  pulse  does  not 
materially  aid  the  judgment ;  it  becomes  quicker  and 
more  sharp,  but  hardly  to  such  an  extent  that  depend- 
ence can  be  placed  on  its  indications.  The  discharges 
often  cease  when  the  disease,  in  an  acute  form,  becomes 
concentrated  upon  the  contents  of  the  abdomen ;  but  the 
nose  is  almost  always  hot  and  harsh,  though  in  a  few  cases  I 
have  known  the  part  remain  cold  and  moist  even  to  the 
last.  As  the  close  draws  near,  a  very  peculiar  smell,  not 
absolutely  powerful,  but  more  sickly  than  offensive,  is 
emitted.  This  odor  is  consequent  upon  the  faeces,  and 
when  it  is  detected  the  animal  seldom  or  never  sur- 
vives. 

The  brain,  both  Blaine  and.Youatt  speak  of  as  subject 
to  inflammation  during  the  latter  stage  of  distemper.  As 
diseases  are  peculiarly  liable  to  change,  and  the  appear- 
ances assumed  at  different  times  are  by  no  means  uniform, 
I  may  not  say  those  estimable  writers  never  beheld  it  in 


DOGS  *    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  139 

such  a  state ;  but  I  am  certain  I  have  never  seen  it  in  a 
similar  condition ;  I  have  found  it  congested,  but  far 
oftener  have  I  discovered  it  perfectly  healthy.  One  of 
its  coverings  (the  dura  mater)  has  exhibited  a  few  spots 
of  congestion,  but  these  have  been  small,  each  not  larger 
than  the  head  of  a  moderate  sized  pin,  and  in  number 
about  ten  or  twelve  ;  generally  they  are  situated  towards 
the  anterior  of  the  cranium  (on  either  side  or  falx),  and 
near  to  the  crista  galli. 

The  bones  forming  the  roof  of  the  skull  have,  however, 
been  highly  vascular — loaded  with  dark  blood — so  that 
if  dried  they  become  of  almost  a  black  hue  :  and  without 
disputing  the  accuracy  of  either  of  the  authorities  I  have 
mentioned,  these  appearances  to  my  mind  account  more 
satisfactorily  for  symptoms  which  no  one  asserts  ever 
border  upon  phrenitis.  The  brain  seems  to  me  to  be 
only  sympathetically  affected,  not  absolutely  involved  in 
this  disease.  When  this  is  threatened,  there  is  generally 
some  notice  given  before  the  fits,  succeeded  by  stupor, 
are  displayed.  The  eye  will  sometimes  brighten,  and 
the  discharge  from  the  nose  will  cease.  This,  however, 
is  by  no  means  constant ;  as  it  is  not  rare  for  both  to 
continue,  or  even  to  become  more  copious  ;  but  if  one 
only  should  remain,  the  nose  is  certain  to  be  the  part 
whence  the  deflexion  will  issue.  No  positive  dependence, 
therefore,  can  be  placed  upon  the  discharges  from  the 
eye  or  nose.  The  eye,  nevertheless,  is  certain  to  denote 
that  which  is  on  the  eve  of  happening.  The  pupil  m&y 
be  small ;  and  when  it  is  so,  its  decrease  of  size  will  be 


140  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

marked,  and  it  will  have  little  disposition  to  &*  rge. 
This,  however,  is  rarely  witnessed.  Generally  ^he  nupil 
is  much  enlarged,  so  much  as  to  conceal  the  iris,  and 
alter  the  character  of  the  organ.  The  eye  is  moreover 
retracted,  and  the  dog  has  a  very  peculiar  expression  of 
mingled  pain  and  stupidity.  If  the  hand  be  placed  upon 
the  head,  it  will  be  sensibly  hot.  No  matter  how  thick 
the  coat  may  be,  the  heat  will  be  apparent,  and  the 
carotid  arteries  will  sensibly  throb.  The  coat  feels  dry 
and  is  warm,  although  the  animal  may  be  trembling  to 
such  a  degree  as  prevents  the  pulse  being  counted.  Yet 
the  dog  seems  lively ;  it  is  active  now,  though  perhaps  a 
little  while  ago  it  was  dull ;  every  trivial  circumstance 
now  attracts  its  notice.  The  appetite  is  generally  rave- 
nous. The  dog  which  only  the  day  before  was  disinclined 
to  feed,  is  suddenly  disposed  to  eat  more  than  it  ever 
was  known  to  consume  ;  and  it  will  gnaw  and  swallow 
the  hardest  wood  for  want  of  better  provender.  The 
amended  appetite  is  mostly  one  of  the  symptoms,  but  it 
is  not  invariably  witnessed ;  for  occasionally  increased 
activity,  and  the  strange  appearance  of  the  eye,  are  all 
that  indicate  the  approach  of  fits.  It  will  not  be  long, 
however,  before  something  shall  be  added  which  is  more 
definite  in  its  meaning.  The  dog  which  was  running 
about  suddenly  stands  still,  and  begins  to  smack  its  lips 
and  champ  its  jaw.  It  keeps  stationary  while  doing  this, 
and  continues  so  until  a  quantity  of  froth  and  thick  saliva 
falls  from  the  mouth,  drops  upon  the  ground,  and  then 
the  action  ceases.  The  animal  looks  around  with  a  vacant 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  141 

stare,  evidently  not  conscious  where  it  is,  and  starts  away, 
hitting  itself  perhaps  against  anything  which  may  oppose 
its  progress.  If  caught  it  struggles  to  get  loose,  and  may 
even  bite  the  hand  which,  when  conscious,  it  would 
perish  to  defend.  Almost  immediately,  however,  it 
regains  its  faculties,  and  then  seems  quite  as  well  as  it 
appeared  to  be  before  the  attack  came  on.  It  may  con- 
tinue subject  to  be  thus  seized  for  several  days  ;  or  soon 
after  the  first  attack,  fits  or  convulsions  may  start  up. 
During  the  champing  colic  may  set  in,  which  will  only 
yield  when  the  fits  are  established.  The  duration  of  the 
champing  is  not  regular  ;  it  may  be  only  for  a  few 
moments,  or  for  several  minutes.  The  attacks  may  be 
no  more  than  one  or  two  in  the  day,  or  twenty  may 
occur  in  a  single  hour.  Generally  they  remain  about 
three  days,  but  here  also  there  is  no  rule.  I  have  known 
them  to  be  present  for  a  week,  and  also  to  exist  only  for 
a  few  hours.  In  these  latter  cases  the  condition  of  the 
dog  is  generally  not  understood.  It  is  taken  out  for  a 
long  walk,  or  it  is  indulged  with  a  hearty  meal ;  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  one,  or  shortly  after  the  other,  it  begins 
to  champ,  utters  a  loud  sharp  cry,  which  is  suddenly  cut 
short  as  if  the  animal  was  choked.  The  eyes  glare,  the 
mouth  is  open,  and  before  perfect  insensibility  ensues, 
the  dog  bites  at  every  object  near  it,  then  falls  down 
convulsed,  the  limbs  stiffen,  the  head  is  drawn  back  or 
twisted  to  one  side,  the  urine  and  dung  are  voided ;  and 
a  state  of  unconsciousness,  which  may  cease  in  a  few 
minutes,  or  continue  for  hours,  during  which  the  body  is 


142  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

in  contortions,  and  the  saliva  flows  freely  from  the  mouth, 
stretches  the  poor  brute  upon  the  earth.  "When  this  is 
over,  the  dog  recovers  as  from  a  trance,  being  always 
disposed  to  ramble,  and  should  its  strength  permit,  will 
start  away  at  its  utmost  speed.  There  is  neither  to  the 
number  nor  duration  of  these  fits  any  limit ;  they  may 
be  few  or  frequent,  and  long  or  short.  The  second  may 
end  the  life ;  or  every  five  minutes,  nay  oftener,  they 
may  occur,  and  the  animal  survive  for  days.  Any 
excitement  will  bring  them  on,  and  the  passage  of  the 
faeces  invariably  is  accompanied  by  an  attack.  Diarrhoea 
always  begins  when  they  commence,  and  the  dog  soon 
loses  strength,  and  lies  upon  its  side  unconscious  and 
incapable  of  motion ;  the  pulse  is  not  to  be  felt,  and 
gradually  without  a  struggle  it  expires.  Let  no  man, 
however,  be  hasty  in  saying  positively  when  death  has 
taken  place.  Often  has  the  life  seemed  gone,  for  the 
heart  has  been  still ;  but  minutes  afterwards  the  animal 
has  gasped,  and  then  began  to  breathe  once  more.  Death, 
however,  comes  at  last,  for  if  the  dog  sinks  to  such  a 
state,  I  have  never  known  it  to  revive. 

A  pustular  eruption  is  often  witnessed  during  the 
existence  of  distemper,  and  I  have  not  seen  the  same 
phenomenon  distinct  from  the  disease.  The  two  appear 
to  be  united,  and  yet  we  do  not  know  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  connected.  The  other  symptoms  are 
not  mitigated  when  the  pustules  are  matured,  nor  does 
their  appearance  denote  any  particular  crisis  or  stage  of 
the  disorder.  I  have,  however,  most  frequently  seen 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  143 

them  towards  the  latter  or  confirmed  stages  of  distemper, 
and  often  they  have  immediately  preceded  the  fits.  The 
first  indication  given  is  a  little  redness,  whidh  is  strictly 
local  or  confined  to  a  particular  spot.  This  place  is  not 
very  red,  but,  nevertheless,  it  is  obviously  inflamed  and 
tender ;  there  is  not  much  swelling,  but  a  slight  hard- 
ness can  be  detected.  A  day  or  two  afterwards  the  red- 
ness dies  away,  and  a  globular  eminence,  perfectly  round, 
and  generally  about  the  size  of  a  split  pea,  is  beheld.  If 
it  be  opened,  a  proportionate  quantity  of  thick  pus  of  a 
healthy  character  escapes,  and  a  comparatively  large 
incrustation  forms  over  the  part ;  if  not  opened,  the  pus- 
tule bursts  and  the  scab  follows,  but  larger  than  in  the 
previous  case.  Mostly  the  eruption  appears  on  the  belly 
and  inside  of  the  thighs,  but  it  is  seldom  strictly  confined 
to  those  parts.  Often  it  affects  the  trunk  and  tail,  but 
does  not  usually  attack  the  head  and  fore-limbs.  There 
is  no  proof  that  any  benefit  attends  its  development,  or 
any  known  reason  for  attributing  it  to  any  cause  j  save 
only  such  as  can  be  drawn  from  the  statement,  that  I 
have  commonly  observed  it  in  pups  of  a  weakly  constitu- 
tion and  emaciated  condition. 

The  disposition  to  eat  or  gnaw  some  part  of  the  body 
is  often  shown  to  an  alarming  degree,  but  is  seldom  exhi- 
bited save  in  the  latter  stage  of  the  disease.  The  dog  is 
observed  to  lick  one  of  its  paws,  or  mumble  at  its  tail,  for 
some  days.  The  part  is  always  one  of  the  extremities, 
and  is  evidently  tormented  with  a  violent  itching  which 
cannot  be  allayed.  The  animal  at  length,  irritated  by 


144  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

the  torture,  attacks  the  member  with  its  teeth,  The  skin 
is  first  removed,  and  then  the  flesh.  The  mouth  may  be 
covered  with  blood,  the  teeth  clogged  with  hair,  and  the 
very  bones  attacked ;  but  the  pain  which  the  sight  of 
the  mangled  surface  suggests  to  the  spectator  seems 
not  to  be  felt  by  the  dog,  which  appears  desirous  only  of 
destroying  its  own  body.  I  have  known  two  of  the  toes 
of  one  fore-paw  to  be  thus  consumed,  so  that  amputation 
was  afterward  imperative,  portions  of  the  metacarpal 
bones  being  laid  bare.  In  several  instances  the  root  of 
the  tail  has  been  eaten,  until  .the  sacrum  and  first  tail 
bones,  with  the  nerves,  were  exposed.  The  rage  cannot 
be  overcome,  and,  unless  the  disposition  be  prevented  by 
mechanical  means,  the  consequence  will  be  fatal.  No 
author  that  I  am  acquainted  with  has  noticed  this  pe- 
culiarity; and  in  general  it  is  attributed  to  other  canses 
than  distemper,  which  is  either  not  observed,  or  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  got  over. 

Tumors  on  various  parts  of  the  body,  and  of  different 
kinds,  sometimes  but  not  usually  accompany  the  disease; 
but  as  I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy  myself  they  are 
peculiar  to  the  disorder,  or  induced  by  any  other  cause 
than  the  debility  attendant  on  distemper,  there  is  in  this 
place  no  occasion  to  more  than  point  out  the  possibility 
of  their  appearance.  They  are  unfavorable  as  indica- 
tions of  general  weakness,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  pos- 
sess any  further  or  direct  influence  over  the  course  of  the 
affection. 

The  genital  organs  rarely  escape  altogether.     A  thick 


DOGS'.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  145 

purulent  discharge,  or  one  of  a  glairy  nature,  is  often 
present  in  the  male  throughout  the  attack,  and  nearly 
always  during  recovery.  In  both  sexes  the  bladder  in 
the  latter  stages  is  apt  to  be  paralysed,  and  the  accumu- 
lation of  the  urine  then  becomes  a  prominent  symptom. 
The  recovery  often  commences  after  relief  has  been 
obtained,  but  if  the  necessity  be  overlooked,  death  gene- 
rally ensues. 

Paralysis  of  the  hind  extremities  is  occasionally  wit- 
nessed, and  when  seen  is  generally  sudden  in  its  appear- 
ance. Sometimes,  however,  the  loss  of  power  is  gradual, 
and  when  such  is  the  case  the  hopes  of  a  cure  are  always 
diminished.  If  the  power  of  motion  be  lost  suddenly, 
costiveness  mostly  exists  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
should  be  gradual,  there  may  be  diarrhoea,  which  will 
terminate  in  death. 

Twitches,  choraea,  or  Saint  Vitus's  dance,  are  not  very 
usual,  and  may  continue  for  months  after  every  other 
symptom  has  subsided.  All  four  limbs  are  sometimes 
violently  agitated,  and  even  during  sleep  are  not  quies- 
cent. The  motion  is  incessant,  and  when  this  is  the  case 
the  animal  dies,  worn  out  by  the  want  of  bod/ily  rest.  In 
the  majority  of  instances  only  one  limb  is  affected ;  and 
a  species  of  independence  of  volition,  or  incapability  of 
controlling  its  movements,  accompanies  the  affection. 
Though  never  still,  the  leg  is  comparatively  useless,  and 
is  carried  in  a  manner  which  denotes  this  fact.  The 
muscles  of  the  trunk  are  less  commonly  attacked,  but 
they  do  not  always  escape.  When  the  legs  have  not 

7 


146  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

been  thus  affected,  I  have  known  the  abdominal  and 
tnoracic  muscles  to  be  troubled  by  continuous  twitchings ; 
which,  however,  have  been  for  the  most  part  slight,  and 
have  subsided  more  quickly  than  have  those  of  the 
extremities,  when  they  have  been  diseased.  Cholera 
comes  on  gradually ;  its  commencement  is  hardly  to  be 
perceived,  and  it  is  seldom  observed  before  the  distem- 
per is  fully  developed — even  sometimes  only  when  the 
disorder  appears  to  be  subsiding.  It  is  not  rare  for  it  to 
start  up  while  the  animal  is  apparently  recovering;  and 
when  it  does  so,  it  is  always  most  difficult  to  remove. 
No  pain  is  felt  in  the  affected  limb  ;  the  part  rather  seems 
to  lose  some  portion  of  its  sensibility. 

When  the  hind  parts  are  paralysed,  feeling  may  be  en- 
tirely gone ;  so  that  a  pin  thrust  into  the  flesh  of  those 
parts  does  not  even  attract  the  notice  of  the  dog.  This 
does  not  occur  in  chorsea,  but  the  consciousness  is  dulled 
by  that  affection.  The  convulsed  limb  may  be  more 
roughly  handled  than  the  healthy  ones ;  but  violence 
will  excite  those  answers  which  truly  indicate  that  insen- 
sibility is  not  established  in  it.  If  nothing  be  done  for 
the  twitchings,  the  limb  will  waste  ;  at  last  the  general 
system  will  be  sympathetically  involved,  and  the  body 
will  grow  thin.  This,  however,  may  not  happen  until 
long  after  all  signs  of  distemper  have  disappeared  j  for 
chorsea,  though  well  known  to  be  often  fatal,  is  always 
slow  in  its  progress,  and  never  attended  with  immediate 
danger. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  leading  symptoms  ;  and  it 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  147 

now  remains  only  to  more  particularly  point  out  those 
which  indicate  death  and  denote  recovery.  The  third  or 
fourth  week  is  the  time  when  the  dog  mostly  dies,  if  the 
disorder  terminates  fatally  ;  and  six  weeks  is  the  average 
continuance  of  the  attack.  Rapid  loss  of  flesh  is  always 
a  bad  sign,  and  it  is  worse  in  proportion  as  the  appetite  is 
good,  because  then  nature  has  lost  the  power  of  appropri- 
ation. The  presence  of  vermin  is  likewise  a  circum- 
stance which  in  some  measure  is  deserving  of  notice. 
If  a  dog  becomes,  during  the  existence  of  this  disorder, 
unusually  infested  with  fleas,  or  more  especially  if  lice 
all  at  once  cover  its  coat, — as  these  parasites  ever  abound 
where  the  body  is  debilitated  and  the  system  unhealthy, 
— they  are  at  such  a  period  particularly  ominous.  The 
coat  cannot,  while  the  disease  prevails,  be  expected  to 
look  sleek;  but  when  it  becomes  more  than  usually 
harsh,  and  is  decidedly  foul,  having  a  peculiar  smell, 
which  is  communicated  to  the  hand  when  it  is  passed 
over  the  body,  the  anticipations  are  not  bright.  The  most 
marked  indication  is,  however,  given  by  the  tongue. 
When  this  is  only  a  little  whiter  than  it  was  in  health, 
we  may  hope  for  recovery ;  but  if  it  becomes  coated, 
discolored,  and  red  and  dry  at  its  tip  and  edges,  the 
worst  may  be  foretold.  The  warning  is  the  more  de- 
cided if  the  breath  be  hot  and  tainted,  and  the  belly  and 
feet  cold  to  the  touch.  While  the  dog  can  stand  and 
walk,  however  feebly,  there  is  no  reason  to  despair  ;  but 
when  it  falls  down,  and  lies  upon  its  side,  rarely  is  medi- 
cine of  much  avail.  Even  then,  however,  it  will  some- 


148  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

times  recover ;  but  if,  while  in  this  state,  injections  are 
returned  as  soon  as  they  are  administered,  the  chance 
that  it  can  survive  is  indeed  remote. 

Recovery,  in  extreme  cases,  usually  commences  after 
diarrhoea  which  had  set  in  has  subsided,  rather  than 
during  its  attack.  This  is  the  only  semblance  to  any- 
thing approaching  a  crisis  which  has  come  hither  under 
my  observation.  If  simultaneously  the  eyes  lose  their 
red  and  glassy  aspect,  and  the  cough  returns,  the  danger 
may  be  supposed  to  have  been  passed.  For  weeks,  how- 
ever, the  animal  will  require  attention  ;  for  the  conva- 
lescence is  often  more  difficult  to  master  than  the  disease 
itself  is  to  cure  ;  and  relapses,  always  more  dangerous 
than  the  original  attack,  are  by  no  means  unusual.  The 
recovery  may  not  be  perfect  before  one  or  even  two 
months  have  expired  ;  but  usually  it  is  rapid,  and  the 
health  is  better  than  it  was  previous  to  the  disease.  A 
dog  which  would  before  never  make  flesh,  having  had 
the  distemper,  will  often  become  fat.  I  once  tried  all  in 
my  power  to  relieve  a  Newfoundland  dog  of  worms,  but 
though  I  persisted  for  months,  I  was  at  last  reluctantly 
obliged  to  admit  the  case  was  beyond  any  treatment  I 
dared  employ.  A  fortnight  after  I  had  given  it  up,  the 
same  animal  was  brought  to  me,  suffering  under  evident 
distemper.  I  was  not  displeased  to  see  it  in  that  state, 
for  I  felt  I  could  overcome  the  disease  ;  and  I  told  the 
proprietor  that  with  the  distemper  the  worms  would  de- 
part. So  it  proved,  and  the  dog  has  not  since  been  sub- 
ject to  the  annoyance. 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  149 

When  the  violence  of  the  disorder  has  declined,  the 
skin  generally  peels,  the  cuticle  is  cut  off,  and  the  hair  is 
scurfy.  I  have  even  known  the  soles  of  the  feet  to  cast 
their  outer  covering,  and  in  one  case  three  of  the  nails 
were  shed.  The  teeth,  also,  are  coated  with  a  thick  fur, 
and  the  breath  is  offensive ;  but  as  the  strength  returns 
at  the  same  time,  these  circumstances  are  not  to  be 
viewed  in  a  serious  light.  In  one  or  two  instances, 
where  tkp  system  seemed  to  be  so  shaken  that  it  retained 
no  strength  to  cast  off  the  lingering  remnant  of  the  dis- 
temper, mange  has  burst  forth,  and  proceeded  very 
rapidly  ;  but  it  yielded  with  equal  speed  to  mild  external 
remedies,  and  is  therefore  only  to  be  feared  inasmuch  as 
it  disfigures  the  dog  for  a  time,  retarding  the  ultimate 
restoration  to  health  by  further  taxing  the  enfeebled 
body. 

During  the  recovery  from  distemper,  small  and  delicate 
animals — terriers  and  spaniels — are  very  liable  to  faint ; 
the  dog  is  lively,  perhaps  excited,  when  suddenly  it  falls 
upon  its  side,  and  all  its  limbs  stiffen.  A  series  of  these 
attacks  may  follow  one  another,  though  generally  one 
only  occurs ;  when  numerous  and  rapid,  there  is  some 
danger,  but,  as  a  general  rule,  little  apprehension  need  be 
entertained.  The  fainting  fits  are  of  some  consequence, 
if  they  exist  during  a  sickening  for,  or  maturing  of,  dis- 
temper. In  pups  that  have  not  passed  the  climax  of 
the  disease,  they  are  not  unseldom  the  cause  of  death  ; 
but,  even  in  that  case,  I  have  never  been  convinced  that 
the  measures  adopted  for  the  relief  did  not  kill  quite  as 


150  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

much  or  even  more  than  the  affection.  "When  the  symp- 
tom is  mistaken,  and  wrong  remedies  are  resorted  to,  the 
fainting  fit  will  often  continue  for  hours,  or  never  be 
overcome.  When  let  alone,  the  attack  mostly  does  not 
last  longer  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  under  judicious 
treatment  the  consciousness  almost  immediately  returns. 
When  the  fainting  fits  occur  during  the  progress  or  ad- 
vance of  the  disease — that  is,  before  the  symptoms  have 
begun  to  amend — it  is  usually  preceded  by  signs  of 
aggravation.  For  twelve  or  twenty-four  hours  previously 
the  dog  is  perceptibly  worse ;  it  may  moan  or  cry,  and 
yet  no  organ  seems  to  be  decidedly  affected  more 
seriously  than  it  was  before.  I  attribute  the  sounds 
made  to  headache ;  and,  confirming  this  opinion,  there  is 
always  some  heat  at  the  scalp.  The  animal  is  dull,  but 
immediately  before  the  collapse  it  attempts  to  wander, 
and  has  begun  to  move,  probably  panting  at  the  same 
time,  when  it  falls  without  a  cry,  and  stiffens.  In  this 
state — the  rigidity  occasionally  being  less,  but  the  uncon- 
sciousness continuing  unchanged — it  will  remain ;  the 
eyes  are  turned  upward  or  into  the  skull,  the  gums  and 
tongue  are  pallid,  the  legs  and  belly  cold :  the  appear- 
ances are  those  of  approaching  death,  which,  unless  relief 
is  afforded,  may  in  a  short  time  take  place.  When  the 
fainting  occurs  after  convalescence  is  established,  the 
attack  is  sudden,  the  symptoms  are  less  violent,  and  the 
coma  of  shorter  duration.  In  this  last  case  there  is  gene- 
rally little  danger,  but  there  is  always  sufficient  reason 
for  alarm,  and  help  ought  never  to  be  delayed.  These 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  151 

attacks  are  commonly  confounded  with  true  distemper 
fits,  from  which  they  are  altogether  distinct ;  and  from 
which  they  may  be  readily  distinguished  by  the  absence 
of  the  champing  of  the  jaw,  the  want  of  any  dis- 
position to  bite,  the  immediate  insensibility  which  ensues, 
the  shrieks  not  being  heard,  and  the  urine  or  faeces  not 
being  voided.  Nevertheless,  the  two  are  usually  con- 
founded, and  hence  many  persons  are  found  asserting 
that  distemper  fits  are  easily  cured;  and  several  dogs 
have  been  shown  to  me  at  different  times,  which  their 
owners  were  confident  had  been  attacked  by  distemper 
fits,  and  radically  cured  by  the  most  simple,  and  often 
ridiculous  specifics.  I  have  sometimes  in  despair — even 
against  my  reason — tried  these  boasted  remedies,  but  in 
no  instance  has  the  result  rewarded  me.  Where  there 
was  real  occasion  for  a  potent  medicine,  and  little  hope 
that  any  drug  could  benefit,  the  nostrums  have,  without 
a  single  exception,  belied  the  confident  recommendations 
with  which  they  were  offered,  and  either  have  done  harm 
or  proved  inoperative. 

The  symptoms  of  distemper,  as  the  reader  will,  after 
wading  through  the  foregoing  description,  have  perceived, 
are  numerous  and  complicated ;  they  admit  of  no  posi- 
tive arrangement,  being  both  eccentric  in  their  order  and 
appearances.  Redness  of  the  eyes,  with  discharge  from 
both  eyes  and  nose,  accompanied  with  ordinary  signs  of 
illness,  are  the  early  indications ;  but  even  these  are  not 
to  be  sought  for,  or  to  be  expected  in  any  single  form. 
The  judgment  must  be  exercised,  and  study  strengthened 


152  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

by  experience  will  alone  enable  any  man  to  pronounce 
tbe  presence  of  distemper  in  many  cases  ;  while,  perhaps, 
without  knowledge  or  practice  any  person  may  recognise 
it  in  the  generality  of  instances. 

The  treatment  is  rendered  the  more  difficult  because 
of  the  insidious  nature  of  the  disorder,  and  the  uncertain 
character  of  its  symptoms  ;  under  such  circumstances,  it 
is  no  easy  task  to  make  perfectly  clear  those  instructions 
I  am  about  to  give.  I  am  in  possession  of  no  specific  ;  I 
do  not  pretend  to  teach  how  to  conjure ;  I  am  going  only 
to  lay  down  certain  rules  which,  if  judiciously  applied, 
will  tend  to  take  from  this  disease  that  fatal  reputation 
which  it  has  hitherto  acquired.  I  shall  be  obliged,  how- 
ever, to  leave  much  to  the  discretion  of  the  reader ;  for  it 
would  employ  too  great  a  space,  did  I  attempt  to  make 
provision  for  all  possible  accidents  and  probable  combina- 
tions. 

The  diet  is  of  all  importance  ;  it  must  be  strictly  attend- 
ed to.  In  the  first  place,  meat  or  flesh  must  be  withheld. 
Boiled  rice,  with  a  little  broth  from  which  the  fat  has 
been  removed,  may  be  the  food  of  a  weakly  animal,  but 
for  the  majority  bread  and  milk  will  be  sufficient ;  which- 
ever is  employed  must  be  given  perfectly  cold.  Sugar, 
butter,  sweet  biscuits,  meat,  gravy,  greens,  tea  or  pot 
liquor — either  luxuries  or  trash — must  be  scrupulously 
denied  in  any  quantity,  however  small.  Skim-milk,  if 
perfectly  sweet,  is  to  be  preferred,  and  coarse  bread  or 
ship  biscuits  are  better  than  the  same  articles  of  a  finer 
quality.  These  will  form  the  diet,  when  the  dog  can  be 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  153 

brought  to  accept  them  ;  and  to  rice,  the  favorite — how- 
ever great  may  be  the  pity  he  elicits,  or  however  urgent 
may  be  his  solicitations  for  a  more  liberal  fare — must  be 
:;igidly  confined.  If,  after  a  few  trials,  the  dog  stubbornly 
refuses  such  provender,  meat  must  of  necessity  be  given, 
but  it  should  be  of  the  very  best  description,  and  rather 
underdone.  Of  this  kind,  it  ought  to  be  minced,  and 
mixed  with  so  much  rice  or  ship  biscuit  as  the  animal  can 
at  first  be  made  to  eat  with  it ;  the  rice  or  biscuit  may 
then  be  gradually  increased  ;  and  in  the  end  the  vege- 
table substance  will  constitute,  at  all  events,  the  major 
part  of  the  support.  Water,  constantly  changed — a  cir- 
cumstance too  little  attended  to  where  dogs  are  concerned 
— must  be  the  only  drink  ;  the  bed  must  be  warm  and 
dry,  but  airy.  Cleanliness  cannot  be  carried  to  too  nice 
an  extent ;  here  the  most  fastidious  attention  is  not  out 
of  place.  Let  the  kennel  be  daily  cleared,  and  the  bed 
regularly  changed  at  least  thrice-a-week  ;  straw  or  hay 
is  better  for  the  dog  to  sleep  upon  than  cushions  or 
blankets,  which,  being  more  expensive,  are  not  so  fre- 
quently replaced.  Too  much  hay  or  straw  cannot  be 
allowed,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult  to  regulate 
the  quantity  of  the  finer  articles.  In  the  last  kind  of  bed 
the  animal  is  often  almost  smothered,  or  else  he  scrapes 
them  into  a  lump,  and  lies  shivering  on  the  top  ;  whereas, 
when  he  has  straw  to  lie  upon,  he  can  either  creep  be- 
neath it,  and  shelter  himself  when  sensible  of  cold,  or  ex- 
pose himself  to  the  air  when  oppressed  by  the  fever.  The 
sensations  being  the  only  guide,  it  is  best  to  leave  the 


154  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

dog,  as  much  as  possible,  capable  of  obeying  its  instinct ; 
but  always  let  the  bed  be  ample,  as  during  the  night  the 
shivering  generally  prevails,  and  the  cold  fit  is  entirely 
independent  of  the  heat  to  be  felt  at  the  skin,  or  the  tem- 
perature of  the  season.  Let  the  dog  be  kept  away  from 
the  fire,  for,  if  permitted,  it  will  creep  to  the  hearth,  and 
may  be  injured  by  the  falling  cinders,  when  the  burn  will 
not  perhaps  readily  heal.  A  cold  or  rather  cool  place  is 
to  be  selected — one  protected  from  wet,  free  from  damp, 
and  not  exposed  to  wind  or  draughts.  The  kennel,  if 
properly  constructed,  is  the  better  house,  for  dogs  do 
best  in  the  open  air ;  the  only  objection  to  which  is,  the 
chance  it  offers  of  the  animal  being  drenched  with  rain. 
If  the  kennel  can  be  placed  under  an  open  outhouse,  I 
should  always  have  it  put  there ;  and  what  else  I  would 
recommend  is,  of  course,  told  by  the  line  of  conduct 
which  I  pursue. 

Medicinal  measures  are  not  to  be  so  quickly  settled.  A 
constant  change  of  the  agents  employed  will  be  impera- 
tive, and  the  practitioner  must  be  prepared  to  meet  every 
symptom  as  it  appears.  The  treatment  is  almost  wholly 
regulated  by  the  symptoms,  and  as  the  last  are  various, 
of  course  the  mode  of  vanquishing  them  cannot  be  uni- 
form. To  guide  us,  however,  there  is  the  well-known 
fact,  the  disease  we  have  to  subdue  is  of  a  febrile  kind, 
and  has  a  decided  tendency  to  assume  a  typhoid  charac- 
ter ;  therefore,  whatever  is  done  must  be  of  a  description 
not  likely  to  exhaust, — depletion  is  altogether  out  of  the 
question.  The  object  we  have  to  keep  in  view  is  the 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  155 

support  of  nature,  and  the  husbanding  of  those  powers 
which  the  malady  is  certain  to  prey  upon  :  in  proportion 
as  this  is  done,  so  will  be  the  issue.  In  the  very  early 
stage,  purgatives  or  emetics  are  admissible.  If  a  dog  is 
brought  to  me  with  reddened  eyes,  but  no  discharge,  and 
the  owner  does  no  more  with  regard  to  the  animal  than 
complain  of  dulness,  a  want  of  appetite,  and  a  desire  to 
creep  to  the  warmth,  then  I  give  a  mild  emetic  such  as  is 
directed,  page  119  ;  and  this  I  repeat  for  three  successive 
mornings ;  on  the  fourth  day  administering  a  gentle 
purge,  as  ordered,  page  116.  The  tartar  emetic  solution 
and  purgative  pills  I  employ  for  these  purposes,  in  pre- 
ference to  castor  oil  or  ipecacuanha,  and  during  the  same 
time  I  prescribe  the  following  pills  : — 

Ext.  belladonna    .     .     .  Six  to  twenty-four  grains. 

Nitre One  to  four  scruples. 

Extract  of  gentian    .     .  One  to  four  drachms. 

Powdered  quassia     .     .  A  sufficiency. 

Make  into  twenty -four  pills,  and  give  three  daily; 
choosing  the  lowest  amount  specified,  or  the  intermediate 
quantities,  according  to  the  size  of  the  animal. 

Often  under  this  treatment  the  disease  will  appear  to 
be  suddenly  cut  short.  With  the  action  of  the  purgative, 
or  even  before  it  has  acted,  all  the  symptoms  will  disap- 
pear, and  nothing  remains  which  seems  to  say  any  further 
treatment  is  required.  I  never  rest  here,  for  experience 
has  taught  me  that  these  appearances  are  deceptive,  and 
the  disorder  has  a  disposition  to  return.  Consequently 


156  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

strict  injunctions  are  given  as  to   diet,  and  a  course  of 
tonics  is  adopted  : — 

Disulphate  of  quinine  .  One  to  four  scruples. 

Sulphate  of  iron  .     ,     .  One  to  four  scruples. 

Extract  of  gentian    .     .  Two  to  eight  drachms. 

Powdered  quassia.    .     .  A  sufficiency. 

Make  into  twenty  pills,  and  give  three  daily. 

At  the  same  time  1  give  the  liquor  arsenicalis,  which  I 
prepare  not  exactly  as  is  directed  to  be  made  by  the 
London  pharmacopoeia,  but  after  the  following  method  : — 

Take  any  quantity  of  arsenious  acid,  and  adding  to  it 
so  much  distilled  water  as  will  constitute  one  ounce  of 
the  fluid  to  every  four  grains  of  the  substance,  put  the 
two  into  a  glass  vessel.  To  these  put  a  quantity  of  car- 
bonate of  potash  equal  to  that  of  the  acid,  and  let  the 
whole  boil  until  the  liquid  is  perfectly  clear.  The  strength 
is  the  same  as  the  preparation  used  in  human  practice ; 
the  only  difference  is,  the  coloring  and  flavoring  ingre- 
dients are  omitted,  because  they  render  the  medicine  dis- 
tasteful to  the  dog.  The  dose  for  the  dog  is  from  one 
drop  to  three  drops  ;  it  may  be  carried  higher,  but  should 
not  be  used  in  greater  strength,  when  a  tonic  or  febri- 
fuge effect  only  is  desired. 

Of  the  liquor  arsenicalis  I  take  ten  or  twenty  drops, 
and  adding  one  ounce  of  distilled  water,  mingled  with  a 
little  simple  syrup,  I  order  a  teaspoonful  to  be  given 
thrice  daily  with  the  pills,  or  in  a  little  milk,  or  in  any 
fluid  the  creature  is  fond  of.  The  taste  being  pleasant, 
the  dog  does  not  object  to  this  physic,  and  it  is  of  all  im- 


DOGS*.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  157 

portauce  that  it  should  be  annoyed  at  this  time  as  little 
as  may  be  possible. 

Numerous  are  the  cases  which  have  thus  been  short- 
ened by  this  method;  and  the  advantage  gained  by  this 
mode  of  treatment  is,  that  if  the  measures  employed  be 
not  absolutely  necessary,  they  do  no  harm,  and  if  required, 
they  are  those  which  are  calculated  to  mitigate  the  vio- 
lence of  the"  disease ;  so  for  three  or  four  weeks  I  pursue 
this  course,  and  should  all  then  appear  well,  I  dismiss 
the  case. 

Most  generally,  however,  the  dogs  brought  to  us  with 
the  distemper  have  the  disease  fairly  established  before 
we  see  them.  Then  I  never  purge  or  vomit :  the  time 
when  such  agents  could  be  remedial  has  passed,  and  if 
now  used,  though  they  will  seem  to  do  some  immediate 
good,  the  after  consequences  are  always  to  be  regretted. 
The  action  of  the  purgative  has  scarcely  subsided  before 
the  distemper  assumes  a  more  virulent  form,  and  the 
probability  of  the  termination  is  rendered  more  dark. 
During  the  distemper  I  pay  little  attention  to  the  bowels  ; 
and,  however  great  may  be  the  costiveness,  I  never  ven- 
ture to  resort  even  to  a  laxative,  though,  should  I  dis- 
cover the  rectum  to  be  impacted  with  hard  faeces,  an  enema 
may  be  employed.  That  which  I  use  on  these  occasions 
is  composed  of  gruel,  to  which  some  sulphuric  ether  and 
laudanum  has  been  added. 

Take  of  cold  gruel    .     .     .     .     One  quart. 

Sulphuric  ether       .     .     Four  drachms. 
Laudanum  .  ..     .     .     .     One  scruple. 


158  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

The  above  quantity  will  be  ample  for  the  largest  dog 
— one-eighth  will  be  enough  for  a  small  animal — and  for 
a  mere  pup,  an  ounce  of  the  fluid  is  often  sufficient.  In. 
these  cases,  however,  I  always  continue  the  injection 
until  it  is  returned,  the  object  not  being  to  have  it  retain- 
ed ;  but  simply  to  lubricate  the  part,  and  thereby  facilitate 
the  passage  of  the  faeces,  while  by  distending  the  rectum, 
that  intestine  is  stimulated  to  expel  its  contents.  The 
ether  and  laudanum  are  introduced  to  guard  against  the 
possibility  of  irritation.  If  a  more  than  usual  disposition 
to  costiveness  be  observed,  twice  a  week  a  meal  of  liver, 
chopped  very  fine,  is  allowed ;  but  even  this  should  be 
given  only  after  there  is  absolute  proof  of  its  necessity. 

Of  the  cough,  however  distressing  it  may  be,  I  take  no 
notice.  I  do  nothing  for  its  relief,  but  persevere  in  the 
tonic  treatment,  and  become  more  strict  in  my  directions 
concerning  diet.  The  cough  is  only  one  of  the  symptoms 
attendant  on  the  disorder,  and  the  measures  likely  to 
mitigate  its  severity  will  aggravate  the  disease  ;  while  by 
attacking  the  disorder,  we  destroy  the  cause,'  and  with 
that  the  effect  also  disappears. 

The  eyes  I  treat,  or  rather  refuse  to  treat,  upon  the 
same  principle.  Whatever  may  be  the  appearance  they 
present — even  though  the  animal  should  be  actually  blind, 
the  eye  of  a  dull  thick  white  color  on  its  entire  surface, 
and  the  centre  of  the  cornea  ulcerated — nevertheless  I 
let  them  alone,  and  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  entreaties 
which  call  on  me  to  relieve  so  terrible  an  affliction  :  I 
forbid  even  the  discharge  to  be  washed  off.  Nothing  must 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  159 

go  near  them  ;  but  the  treatment  must  be  pursued  as 
though  we  were  ignorant  that  the  parts  were  affected. 
Any  excessive  accumulation  may  be  gently  picked  off 
with  the  fingers  once  a-day  ;  but  even  this  must  be  per- 
formed with  the  utmost  caution,  and  in  most  instances 
had  better  be  let  alone  It  can  only  be  necessary  in 
dogs  that  have  very  long  hair  which  becomes  matted  and 
glued  together  upon  the  cheeks  ;  for  other  animals  it  is 
not  imperative.  If  the  lids  should  be  stuck  together, 
the  fastening  substance  may  be  removed ;  but  it  should 
not  be  too  quickly  done  even  then.  All  water,  either 
warm,  tepid,  or  cold — every  kind  of  lotion,  or  any  sort 
of  salve  or  powder — will  do  harm,  by  either  weakening 
or  irritating  the  organs.  As  to  bleeding,  blistering,  and 
setoning,  which  have  been  advised,  they  are  contrary  to 
the  dictates  of  humanity,  and  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
are  injurious.  In  medicine,  at  least  with  the  dog,  that 
which  is  not  kind  is  not  good.  With  these  animals  the 
feelings  are  much  safer  than  the  reason ;  and  a  lady,  con- 
sulting the  impulses  of  her  heart,  would  be  more  likely 
to  save  her  favorite  than  a  veterinary  surgeon,  who  pro- 
ceeded upon  the  practice  of  that  which  he  supposed  was 
his  science.  Let  the  eyes  of  the  sufferer  alone — we  can- 
not alleviate  the  pain,  or  shorten  its  duration.  The 
disease  regulates  the  torture,  and  to  that  we  must  give 
attention.  If  the  distemper  is  conquered,  the  sight  will 
mostly  be  restored ;  but  if  the  eyes  are  tampered  with, 
consequences  may  ensue  which  are  not  natural  to  the 
disease,  but  are  induced  by  the  crude  and  cruel  prejudices 


160  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

of  the  doctor.  The  man  who,  during  distemper,  seeing 
an  ulcer  upon  the  cornea,  under  the  imagination  that  by 
so  doing  he  will  set  up  a  healthy  action,  presumes  to 
touch  it  with  lunar  caustic,  will  in  the  resistance  of  the 
poor  patient  be  rebuked,  and,  by  the  humour  of  the  eye 
squirting  into  his  face,  probably  be  informed  that  he  has 
accomplished  the  very  object  he  intended  to  prevent, 
while  a  fungoid  mass  will  spring  up  to  commemorate  his 
achievement. 

When  the  lungs  are  attacked,  all  kinds  of  mistaken 
cruelties  have  been  perpetrated.  No  wonder  the  disease 
has  been  so  fatal,  when  it  has  been  so  little  understood. 
I  cannot  conceive  that  any  dog  could  survive  the  measures 
I  was  by  my  college  tutor  taught  to  pursue,  or  the  plan 
which  books  told  me  to  adopt.  Needlessly  severe,  calcu- 
lated to  strengthen  the  disease,  and  to  decrease  the  power 
of  the  animal  to  survive,  as  the  general  practice  decidedly 
is,  I  entreat  the  reader  to  reject  it.  In  truth,  the  involve- 
ment of  the  lungs  is  in  distemper  a  very  slight  affair  ;  no 
symptom  yields  more  quickly  or  to  milder  means.  Do 
not  forget  the  diet,  but  let  it  be  both  low  and  small.  The 
system  cannot  endure  depletion,  therefore  we  must  gain 
whatever  we  can  through  abstinence.  Do  not  starve,  but 
be  cautious  not  to  cram  the  animal ;  only  keep  it  so  short 
that  it  remains  always  hungry.  The  meal  must  now 
never  be  full,  or  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  appetite,  which 
is  usually  large.  A  loaded  stomach  would  do  much, 
injury,  therefore  little  and  often  is  the  rule.  The  amount 
for  the  day  must  be  cut  off  in  the  morning  ;  and  during 


DOGS*.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  161 

the  day,  at  as  many  times  as  the  owner  pleases,  it  may 
little  by  little  be  offered,  but  no  more  must  be  allowed. 
If  the  dog  should  not  be  inclined  to  eat,  which  is  not 
often  the  case  at  this  particular  period,  the  circumstance 
is  hardly  to  be  regretted  ;  he  is  not,  save  under  the 
direction  of  one  qualified  to  give  such  an  order,  to  be 
enticed  or  forced.  As  for  medicine,  let  the  following  pill 
be  given  thrice  daily  : — 

Extract  of  belladonna    .  One  to  four  grains. 

Nitre Three  to  eight  graina 

James's  powder     .     .     .  One  to  four  grains. 

Conserve  of  roses  ...  A  sufficiency. 

This  will  be  the  quantity  for  one  pill ;  but  a  better  effect 
is  produced  if  the  medicine  be  administered  in  smaller 
doses,  and  at  shorter  intervals.  If  the  dog  can  be  con- 
stantly attended  to,  and  does  not  resist  the  exhibition  of 
pills,  or  will  swallow  them  readily  when  concealed  in  a 
bit  of  meat,  the  following  may  be  given  every  hour  :— 

Extract  of  belladonna    .  A  quarter  grain  to  one  grain. 

Nitre .  One  to  four  grains. 

James's  powder     ...  A  quarter  grain  to  one  grain. 

Conserve  of  roses  ...  A  sufficiency. 

With  these  a  very  little  of  the  tincture  of  aconite  may  be 
also  blended,  not  more  than  one  drop  to  four  pills.  The 
tonics  ought  during  the  time  to  be  discontinued,  and  the 
chest  should  be  daily  auscultated  to  learn  when  the 


162  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

symptoms  subside.  So  soon  as  a  marked  change  is 
observed,  the  tonic  treatment  must  be  resumed,  nor  need 
we  wait  until  all  signs  of  chest  affection  have  disappeared. 
When  the  more  active  stage  is  mastered  by  strengthening 
the  system,  the  cure  is  often  hastened  ;  but  the  animal 
should  be  watched,  as  sometimes  the  affection  will  return. 
More  frequently,  however,  while  the  lungs  engross  atten- 
tion, the  eyes  become  disordered.  When  such  is  the  case, 
the  tonics  may  be  at  once  resorted  to  ;  for  then  there  is 
little  fear  but  the  disease  is  leaving  the  chest  to  involve 
other  structures. 

Diarrhoea  may  next  start  up.  If  it  appears,  let  ether 
and  laudanum  be  immediately  administered,  both  by  the 
mouth  and  by  injection.  To  one  pint  of  gruel  add  two 
ounces  of  sulphuric  ether,  and  four  scruples  of  the  tincture 
of  opium ;  shake  them  well  together.  From  half  an 
ounce  to  a  quarter  of  a  pint  of  this  may  be  employed  as 
an  enema,  which  should  be  administered  with  great  gen- 
tleness, as  the  desire  is  that  it  should  be  retained.  This 
should  be  repeated  every  third  hour,  or  oftener  if  the 
symptoms  seem  urgent,  and  there  is  much  straining  after 
the  motions.  From  a  tablespoonful  to  four  times  that 
quantity  of  the  ether  and  laudanum  mixture,  in  a  small 
quantity  of  simple  syrup,  may  be  given  every  second 
hour  by  the  mouth  ;  but  if  there  is  any  indication  of  colic, 
the  dose  may  be  repeated  every  hour  or  half  hour ;  and 
I  have  occasionally  given  a  second  dose  when  only  ten 
minutes  have  elapsed.  Should  the  purgation  continue, 
and  the  pain  subside,  from  five  to  twenty  drops  of  liquor 


DOGS  I     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  163 

potassse  may  be  added  to  every  dose  of  ether  given  by 
the  mouth  ;  which,  when  there  is  no  colic,  should  be  once 
in  three  hours,  and  the  pills  directed  below  may  be  ex- 
hibited at  the  same  time  : — 

Prepared  chalk      .     .  .  Five  grains  to  one  scruple. 

Powdered  ginger  .     .  .  Three  to  ten  grains. 

Powdered  carraways  .  Three  to  ten  grains. 

Powdered  capsicums  .  .  One  to  four  grains. 

Confection  of  roses     .  .  A  sufficiency. 

To  the  foregoing,  from  two  to  eight  grains  of  powdered 
catechu  may  be  added  should  it  seem  to  be  required,  but 
it  is  not  generally  needed.  Opium  more  than  has  been 
recommended,  in  this  stage,  is  not  usually  beneficial ;  and, 
save  in  conjunction  with  ether,  which  appears  to  deprive 
it  of  its  injurious  property,  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of 
employing  it. 

I  have  been  more  full  in  my  directions  for  diarrhoea 
than  was  perhaps  required  by  the  majority  of  cases. 
Under  the  administration  of  the  ether  only  I  am,  there- 
fore, never  in  a  hurry  to  resort  even  to  the  liquor  potassae, 
which,  however,  I  use  some  time  before  I  employ  the 
astringent  pills,  and  during  the  whole  period  I  persevere 
with  the  tonic.  The  diet  I  restrict  to  strong  beef  tea, 
thickened  with  ground  rice,  and  nothing  of  a  solid  nature 
is  allowed.  Should  these  measures  not  arrest  the  purga- 
tion, but  the  faeces  become  offensive,  chloride  of  zinc  is 
introduced  into  the  injection,  and  also  into  the  ether  given 
by  the  mouth.  With  the  first,  from  a  teaspoonful  to  a 


164  DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

tablespoonful  of  the  solution  is  combined,  and  with  the 
last  half  those  quantities  is  blended.  A  wash,  composed 
of  two  ounces  of  the  solution  of  the  chloride  to  a  pint  of 
cold  water,  is  also  made  use  of  to  cleanse  the  anus,  about 
which,  and  the  root  of  the  tail,  the  faeces  have  a  tendency 
to  accumulate.  Warm  turpentine  I  have  sometimes  with 
advantage  had  repeatedly  held  to  the  abdomen,  by  means 
of  flannels  heated  and  then  dipt  into  the  oil,  which  is 
afterwards  wrung  out.  This,  however,  is  apt  to  be 
energetic  in  its  action ;  but  that  circumstance  offers  no 
objection  to  its  employment.  When  it  causes  much  pain, 
it  may  be  discontinued,  and  with  the  less  regret,  as  the 
necessity  is  the  less  in  proportion  as  the  sensibility  is 
the  greater.  Should  it  even  produce  no  indication  of 
uneasiness,  it  must  nevertheless  not  be  carried  too  far, 
since  on  the  dog  it  will  cause  serious  irritation  if  injudi- 
ciously employed ;  and  we  may  then  have  the  conse- 
quences of  the  application  to  contend  with  added  to  the 
effects  of  the  disease.  When  it  produces  violent  irritation, 
a  wash  made  of  a  drachm  of  the  carbonate  of  ammonia 
to  half  a  pint  of  water  may  be  applied  to  the  surface  ; 
and  when  the  inflammation  subsides,  the  part  may  be 
dressed  with  spermaceti  ointment.  The  fits  are  more  to 
be  dreaded  than  any  other  symptom  ;  when  fairly  esta- 
blished, they  are  seldom  mastered.  I  have  no  occasion  to 
boast  of  the  success  of  my  treatment  of  these  fits.  All 
I  can  advance  in  favor  of  my  practice  is,  that  it  does 
sometimes  save  the  life,  and  certainly  alleviates  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  patient ;  while  of  that  plan  of  treatment 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  165 

which  is  generally  recommended  and  pursued,  I  can  con- 
fidently assert  it  always  destroys,  adding  torture  to  the 
pains  of  death.  In  my  hands  not  more  than  one  in  ten 
are  relieved,  but  when  I  followed  the  custom  of  Elaine 
none  ever  lived, — the  fate  was  sealed,  and  its  horrors 
were  increased  by  the  folly  and  ignorance  of  him  who 
was  employed  to  watch  over,  and  was  supposed  to  be 
able  to  control.  Let  the  owners  of  dogs,  when  these 
animals  have  true  distemper  fits,  rather  cut  short  their 
lives  than  allow  the  creatures  to  be  tampered  with  for 
no  earthly  prospect.  I  have  no  hesitation  when  saying 
this ;  the  doom  of  the  dog  with  distemper  fits  may  be 
regarded  as  sealed  ;  and  medicine,  which  will  seldom  save, 
should  be  studied  chiefly  as  a  means  of  lessening  the 
last  agonies.  In  this  light  alone  can  I  recommend  the 
practice  I  am  in  the  habit  of  adopting.  When  under  it 
any  animal  recovers,  the  result  is  rather  to  be  attributed 
to  the  powers  of  nature  than  to  be  ascribed  to  the  virtues 
of  medicine  ;  which  by  the  frequency  of  its  failure  shows 
that  its  potency  is  subservient  to  many  circumstances. 
Blaine  and  Youatt,  both  by  the  terms  in  which  they 
speak  of,  and  the  directions  they  lay  down  for,  the  cure 
of  distemper  fits,  evidently  did  not  understand  the  patho- 
logy of  this  form  of  the  disease.  These  authors  seem  to 
argue  that  the  fits  are  a  separate  disease,  and  not  the 
symptoms  only  of  an  existing  disorder.  The  treatment 
they  order  is  depletive,  whereas,  the  attacks  appearing 
only  after  the  distemper  has  exhausted  the  strength,  a 
little  reflection  convinces  us  the  fits  are  the  results  of 


166  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

weakness.  Their  views  are  mistaken,  and  their  remedies 
are  prejudicial.  They  speak  of  distemper  being  soine- 
tim'es  ushered  in  by  a  fit,  and  their  language  implies  that 
the  convulsions,  sometimes  seen  at  the  first  period,  are 
identical  with  those  witnessed  only  during  the  latest 
stages.  This  is  not  the  fact.  A  fit  may  be  observed 
before  the  appearance  of  the  distemper ;  and  anything 
which,  like  a  fit,  shows  the  system  to  be  deranged,  may 
predispose  the  animal  to  be  affected ;  but,  between  fits 
of  any  kind,  and  the  termination  of  the  affection  in  rela- 
tion to  distemper,  there  is  no  reason  to  imagine  there  is 
an  absolute  connexion.  The  true  distemper  fit  is  never 
observed  early — at  least,  I  have  never  beheld  it — before 
the  expiration  of  the  third  week ;  and  I  am  happy  in 
being  able  to  add,  that  when  my  directions  have  from  the 
first  been  followed,  I  have  never  known  an  instance  in 
which  the  fits  have  started  up.  Therefore,  if  seldom  to 
be  cured,  I  have  cause  to  think  they  may  be  generally 
prevented. 

*  When  the  symptoms  denote  the  probable  appearance 
of  fits,  although  the  appetite  should  be  craving,  the  food 
must  be  light  and  spare.  At  the  Veterinary  College,  the 
pupils  are  taught  that  the  increase  of  the  appetite  at  this 
particular  period  is  a  benevolent  provision  to  strengthen 
the  body  for  the  approaching  trial.  Nature,  foreseeing 
the  struggle  her  creature  is  doomed  to  undergo — the 
teacher  used  to  say — gives  a  desire  for  food,  that  the 
body  may  have  vigor  to  endure  it ;  and  the  young  gen- 
tlemen are  advised,  therefore,  to  gratify  the  cravings  of 


DOGS:    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  IQl 

the  dog.  This  is  sad  nonsense,  which  pretends  to  com- 
prehend those  motives  that  are  far  beyond  mortal  recog- 
nition. We  cannot  read  the  intentions  of  every  human 
mind,  and  it  displays  presumption  when  we  pretend  to 
understand  the  designs  of  Providence.  There  are  sub- 
jects upon  which  prudence  would  enjoin  silence.  The 
voracity  is  excessive,  but  it  is  a  morbid  prompting.  When 
the  fits  are  threatened,  the  stomach  is  either  acutely 
inflamed,  or  in  places  actually  sore,  the  cuticle  being  re- 
moved,  and  the  surface  raw.  After  a  full  meal  at  such  a 
period,  a  fit  may  follow,  or  continuous  cries  may  evidence 
the  pain  which  it  inflicts.  Nothing  solid  should  be 
allowed  ;  the  strongest  animal  jelly,  in  which  arrowroot 
or  ground  rice  is  mixed,  must  constitute  the  diet ;  and 
this  must  be  perfectly  cold  before  the  dog  is  permitted  to 
touch  it :  the  quantity  may  be  large,  but  the  amount 
given  at  one  time  must  be  small.  A  little  pup  should 
have  the  essence  of  at  least  a  pound  of  beef  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  and  a  Newfoundland  or  mastiff  would  require 
eight  times  that  weight  of  nutriment :  this  should  be 
given  little  by  little,  a  portion  every  hour,  and  nothing 
more  save  water  must  be  placed  within  the  animal's  reach. 
The  bed  must  not  be  hay  or  straw,  nor  must  any  wooden 
utensil  be  at  hand  ;  for  there  is  a  disposition  to  eat  such 
things.  A  strong  canvas  bag,  lightly  filled  with  sweet 
hay,  answers  the  purpose  best ;  but  if  the  slightest  in- 
clination to  gnaw  is  observed,  a  bare  floor  is  preferable. 
The  muzzle  does  not  answer  ;  for  it  irritates  the  temper 
which  sickness  has  rendered  sensitive.  Therefore  no 


168  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

restraint,  or  as  little  as  is  consonant  with  the  circum- 
stances, must  be  enforced.  Emetics  are  not  indicated. 
Could  we  know  with  certainty  that  the  stomach  was 
loaded  with  foreign  matters,  necessity  would  oblige  their 
use  ;  but  there  can  be  no  knowledge  of  this  fact — and 
of  themselves  these  agents  are  at  this  time  most  inju- 
rious. Purgatives  are  poisons  now.  There  is  always 
apparent  constipation ;  but  it  is  confined  only  to  the 
posterior  intestine,  and  is  only  mechanical.  Diarrhoea  is 
certain  to  commence  when  the  rectum  is  unloaded,  and 
nothing  likely  to  irritate  the  intestines  is  admissible. 
The  fluid  food  will  have  all  the  aperient  effect  that  can 
be  desired.  As  to  setons,  they  are  useless  during  the 
active  stage  ;  and  if  continued  after  it  has  passed,  they 
annoy  and  weaken  the  poor  patient :  in  fact,  nothing 
must  be  done  which  has  not  hitherto  been  proposed. 

When  signs  indicative  of  approaching  fits  are  remark- 
ed, small  doses  of  mercury  and  ipecacuanha  should  be 
administered. 

Grey  powder    ....     Five  grains  to  one  scruple. 
Ipecacuanha      ....     One  to  four  grains. 

Give  the  above  thrice  daily ;  but  if  it  produces  sick- 
ness, let  the  quantity  at  the  next  dose  be  one-half. 

Tincture  of  hyoscyamus .     One  part. 
Sulphuric  ether    .     .     .     Three  parts. 

This  should  be  mixed  with  oold  soup,  ten  ounces  of 
which  should  be  mingled  with  one  ounce  of  .the  medicine 


DOGS*.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  169 

Give  an  ounce  every  hour  to  a  small  dog,  and  four 
ounces  to  the  largest  animal.  A  full  enema  of  the  solu- 
tion of  soap  should  be  thrown  up  ;  and  the  rectum  having 
been  emptied,  an  ounce  or  four  ounces  of  the  sulphuric 
ether  and  hyoscyamus  mixture  ought  to  be  injected  every 
hour.  Over  the  anterior  part  of  the  forehead,  from  one 
to  four  leeches  may  be  applied.  To  do  this  the  hair 
must  be  cut  close,  and  the  parts  shaved  ;  then,  with  a 
pair  of  scissors,  the  skin  must  be  snipped  through,  and 
the  leech  put  to  the  wound  :  after  tasting  the  blood  it 
will  take  hold.  To  the  nape  of  the  neck  a  small  blister 
may  be  applied  ;  and  if  it  rises,  the  hope  will  mount  with 
it.  A  blister  is  altogether  preferable  to  a  seton  ;  the  one 
acts  as  a  derivative,  by  drawing  the  blood  immediately 
to  the  surface  without  producing  absolute  inflammation, 
which  the  other  as  a  foreign  body  violently  excites.  The 
effects  of  vesicants  are  speedy,  those  of  setons  are 
remote ;  and  I  have  seen  fearful  spectacles  induced  by 
their  employment.  With  dogs  setons  are  never  safe  ; 
for  these  animals,  with  their  teeth  or  claws,  are  nearly 
certain  to  tear  them  out.  In  cases  of  fits,  if  the  seton 
causes  much  discharge,  it  is  debilitating  and  also  offensive 
to  the  dog,  and  the  ends  of  the  tape  are  to  him  an  inces- 
sant annoyance.  It  is  not  my  practice  to  employ  setons, 
being  convinced  that  those  agents  are  not  beneficial  to 
the  canine  race ;  but  to  blisters,  which  on  these  animals 
are  seldom  used,  I  have  little  objection.  With  the 
ammonia  and  cantharides,  turpentine  and  mustard,  we 
have  so  much  variety,  both  as  to  strength  and  speed  of 

8 


170  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

action,  that  we  can  suit  the  remedy  to  the  circumstances, 
which,  in  the  instance  of  a  creature  so  sensitive  and 
irritable  as  the  dog,  is  of  all  importance.  The  blister 
which  I  employ  in  distemper  fits  is  composed  of  equal 
parts  of  liquor  ammonia  and  camphorated  spirits.  I 
saturate  a  piece  of  sponge  or  piline  with  this  compound ; 
and  having  removed  the  hair,  I  apply  it  to  the  nape  of 
the  neck,  where  it  is  retained  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes, 
according  to  the  effect  it  appears  to  produce.  Great 
relief  is  often  obtained  by  this  practice  ;  and  should  it 
be  necessary,  I  sometimes  repeat  the  application  a  little 
lower  down  towards  the  shoulders,  but  never  on  the  same 
place  ;  for  even  though  no  apparent  rubefaction  may  be 
discerned,  the  deeper  seated  structures  are  apt  to  be 
affected,  and  should  the  animal  survive,  serious  sloughing 
may  follow,  if  the  blister  be  repeated  too  quickly  on  one 
part. 

The  directions  given  above  apply  to  that  stage  when 
the  eye  and  other  symptoms  indicate  the  approach  of  fits, 
or  when  the  champing  has  commenced.  The  tonic  pills 
and  liquor  arsenicalis  may  nlso  then  be  continued ;  but 
when  the  fits  have  positively  occurred,  other  measures 
must  be  adopted.  If  colic  should  attack  the  animal, 
laudanum  must  be  administered,  and  in  small  but  repeat- 
ed doses,  until  the  pain  is  dismissed.  Opium  is  of  itself 
objectionable ;  but  the  drug  does  less  injury  than  does 
the  suffering,  and,  therefore,  we  choose  between  the  two 
evils.  From  five  to  twenty  drops  of  the  tincture,  com- 
bined with  half-a-drachm  to  two  drachms  of  sulphuric 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  l7l 

ether,  may  be  given  every  half-hour  during  the  parox- 
ysm ;  and  either  the  dose  diminished  or  the  intervals 
increased  as  the  agony  lessens,  the  animal  being  at  the 
same  time  constantly  watched.  The  ethereal  enemas 
should  be  simultaneously  exhibited,  and  repeated  every 
half-hour.  When  a  fit  occurs,  nothing  should  during  its 
existence  be  given  by  the  mouth,  except  with  the  stom- 
ach-pump, or  by  means  of  a  large-sized  catheter  intro- 
duced into  the  pharynx.  Unless  this  precaution  be 
taken,  there  is  much  danger  of  the  fluid  being  carried 
into  the  lungs.  Ether  by  injection,  however,  is  of  every 
service,  and  where  the  proper  instruments  are  at  hand, 
it  ought  also  to  be  given  by  the  mouth.  The  doses  have 
been  described.  To  the  liquor  arsenicalis,  from  half  a 
drop  to  two  drops  of  the  tincture  of  aconite  may  with 
every  dose  be  blended  ;  and  the  solution  of  the  chloride 
of  lime  should  be  mingled  with  the  injections,  as  ordered 
for  diarrhoea,  which,  if  not  present,  is  certain  to  be  near 
at  hand.  The  following  may  also  be  exhibited,  either  as 
a  soft  mass  or  as  a  fluid  mixture  : — 

Chlorate  of  potash      .     .     One  to  four  grains. 

Aromatic  powder  .     .     .     Half-a-drachm  to  two  drachms. 

Or, 

Carbonate  of  ammonia  .  Five  grains  to  a  scruple. 

Chalk ,     .  One  to  four  scruples. 

Aromatic  confection  .     .  One  to  four  scruples. 

Either  of  the  above  may  be  tried  every  third  hour,  but 
on  no  account  ought  the  warm  bath  to  be  used.     Au 


1*72  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

embrocation,  as  directed  for  rheumatism,  may  oe  employ- 
ed to  the  feet  and  legs,  and  warm  turpentine  may,  as 
described  in  diarrhoea,  be  used  to  the  abdomen.  Cold  or 
evaporating  lotions  to  the  head  are  of  service,  but  unless 
they  can  be  continuously  applied,  they  do  harm.  Their 
action  must  be  prolonged  and  kept  up  night  and  day,  or 
they  had  better  not  be  employed,  as  the  reaction  they 
provoke  is  excessive.  Cold  water  dashed  upon  the  head 
during  the  fit  does  no  good,  but  rather  seems  to  produce 
evil.  The  shock  often  aggravates  the  convulsions  ;  and 
the  wet  which  soon  dries  upon  the  skull  is  followed  by  a 
xnarked  increase  of  temperature ;  while,  remaining  upon 
other  parts,  and  chilling  these,  it  drives  the  blood  to  the 
head. 

From  the  foregoing,  it  will  have  been  seen  that  my 
efforts  are  chiefly  directed  to  strengthening  the  system, 
and,  so  far  as  possible,  avoiding  anything  that  might  add 
to  the  irritability.  On  these  principles  I  have  sometimes 
succeeded,  and  most  often  when  the  fits  have  been  caused 
by  some  foreign  substance  in  the  stomach  or  intestines. 
When  such  is  the  case,  the  fits  are  mostly  short  and 
frequent.  One  dog  that  had  one  of  these  attacks,  which 
did  not  last  above  forty  seconds  every  five  minutes,  and 
was  very  noisy,  lived  in  pain  for  two  days,  and  then 
passed  a  peach-stone,  from  which  moment  it  began  to 
recover,  and  is  now  alive.  In  another  case,  a  nail  was 
vomited,  and  the  animal  from  that  time  commenced  im- 
proving. In  this  instance  an  emetic  would  have  been  of 
benefit ;  but  such  occurrences  are  rare,  and  the  emetic 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  173 

does  not,  even  when  required,  do  the  same  good  as  is 
produced  by  the  natural  ejection  of  the  offending  agent. 
Perhaps,  where  nature  possesses  the  strength  to  cast  off 
the  cause  of  the  distress,  there  is  more  power  indicated  ; 
but  after  an  emetic,  I  have  known  a  dog  fall  upon  its  side, 
and  never  rise  again. 

During  fits  the  dog  should  be  confined,  to  prevent  its 
exhausting  itself  by  wandering  about.  A  large  basket  is 
best  suited  for  this  purpose.  It  should  be  so  large  as  riot 
to  incommode  the  animal,  and  high  enough  to  allow  the 
dog  to  stand  up  without  hitting  its  head.  A  box  is  too 
close  ;  and,  besides  the  objection  it  presents  with  regard 
to  air,  it  does  not  allow  the  liquids  ejected  to  drain  off. 

For  the  pustular  eruption  peculiar  to  distemper,  I  apply 
no  remedy.  When  the  pustules  are  matured  I  open  them, 
but  I  am  not  certain  any  great  benefit  results  from  this 
practice.  If  the  disorder  terminates  favorably  the  symp- 
tom disappears  ;  and,  beyond  giving  a  little  additional 
food,  perhaps  allowing  one  meal  of  meat,  from  one  ounce 
to  six  ounces,  I  positively  do  nothing  in  these  cases.  I 
must  confess  I  do  not  understand  this  eruption ;  and  in 
medicine,  if  you  are  not  certain  what  you  should  do,  it  is 
always  safest  to  do  nothing. 

The  disposition  to  eat  or  gnaw  any  part  of  the  body 
must  be  counteracted  by  mechanical  measures.  The  limb 
or  tail  must  be  encased  with  leather  or  gutta  percha.  No 
application  containing  aloes,  or  any  drug  the  dog  distastes, 
will  be  of  any  avail.  When  the  flesh  is  not  sensitive,  the 
palate  is  not  nice,  and  the  dog  will  eat  away  in  spite  of 


174  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

any  seasoning.  A  mechanical  obstruction  is  the  only 
check  that  can  be  depended  upon.  A  muzzle  must  be 
employed,  if  nothing  else  can  be  used  ;  but  generally  a 
leather  boot,  or  gutta  percha  case  moulded  to  the  part, 
has  answered  admirably.  To  the  immediate  place  I 
apply  a  piece  of  wet  lint,  over  which  is  put  some  oil  silk, 
and  the  rag  is  kept  constantly  moist.  The  dose  of  the 
liquor  arsenicalis  is  increased  by  one-fourth  or  one-half, 
and  in  a  few  days  the  morbid  desire  to  injure  itself  ceases. 
After  this  the  dressings  are  continued  ;  and  only  when 
the  recovery  is  perfect  do  I  attempt  to  operate,  no  matter 
how  serious  may  be  the  wound,  or  how  terrible,  short  of 
mortifying,  it  may  appear. 

Tumors  must  be  treated  upon  general  principles  :  and 
only  regarded  as  reasons  for  supporting  the  strength. 
They  require  no  special  directions  at  this  place,  but  the 
reader  is  referred  to  that  portion  of  the  work  in  which 
they  are  dwelt  upon. 

To  the  genital  organs  of  the  male,  when  the  discharge 
is  abundant,  a  wash  consisting  of  a  drachm  of  the  solution 
of  the  chloride  of  zinc  to  an  ounce  of  water,  gently  ap- 
plied once  or  twice  daily,  is  all  that  will  be  necessary. 
The  paralysis  of  the  bladder  requires  immediate  atten- 
tion. In  the  last  stage,  when  exhaustion  sets  in,  it  is 
nearly  always  paralysed.  Sometimes  the  retention  of 
urine  constitutes  the  leading  and  most  serious  symptom  ; 
and  after  the  water  has  been  once  drawn  off,  the  bladder 
may  regain  its  tone — another  operation  rarely  being 
needed.  A  professional  friend,  formerly  my  pupil, 


DOGS!     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  1*75 

brought  to  me  a  dog  which  exhibited  symptoms  he  could 
not  interpret ;  it  was  in  the  advanced  stage  of  distemper. 
It  was  disinclined  to  move,  and  appeared  almost  as  if  its 
hind  legs  were  partially  paralysed.  I  detected  the  blad- 
der was  distended,  and  though  the  animal  did  not  weigh 
more  than  eight  pounds,  nine  ounces  and  a  half  of  urine 
were  taken  away  by  means  of  the  catheter.  From  that 
time  it  improved, .  and  is  now  well.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  a  few  hours'  delay  in  that  case  would  have 
sealed  the  fate  of  the  dog.  For  the  manner  of  introduc- 
ing the  catheter,  and  the  way  to  discover  when  the  urine 
is  retained,  the  reader  is  referred  to  that  part  of  the  pre- 
sent work  which  treats  especially  on  this  subject. 

Paralysis  and  choraea  will  be  here  dismissed  with  a  like 
remark.  To  those  diseases  the  reader  must  turn  for  their 
treatment ;  but  I  must  here  state,  that  before  any  mea- 
sures specially  intended  to  relieve  either  are  adopted,  the 
original  disease  should  be  first  subdued,  as,  in  many  cases, 
with  the  last  the  chonea  will  disappear  ;  while  in  some 
the  twitching  will  remain  through  life.  All  that  may  be 
attempted  during  the  existence  of  distemper,  will  consist 
in  the  addition  of  from  a  quarter  of  a  grain  to  a  grain 
and  a  half  of  powdered  nux  vomica  to  the  tonic  pills  ; 
and,  in  severe  paralysis,  the  use  of  a  little  friction,  with  a 
mild  embrocation  to  the  loins. 

The  treatment  during  convalescence  is  by  no  means  to 
be  despised,  for  here  we  have  to  restore  the  strength,  and, 
while  we  do  so,  to  guard  against  a  relapse.  One  circum- 
stance must  not  be  lost  sight  of ;  namely,  that  nature  is, 


176  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

after  the  disease  has  spent  its  violence,  always  anxious  to 
repair  the  damage  it  may  have  inflicted.  Bearing  this 
in  mind,  much  of  our  labor  will  be  lightened,  and  more 
than  ever  shall  we  be  satisfied  to  play  second  in  the  busi- 
ness. The  less  we  do  the  better ;  but,  nevertheless,  there 
remains  something  which  will  not  let  us  continue  perfect- 
ly idle. 

Never,  after  danger  has  seemingly  passed,  permit  the 
animal  to  return  all  at  once  to  flesh  food.  For  some  time, 
after  all  signs  of  the  disease  have  entirely  disappeared, 
let  vegetables  form  a  part,  and  a  good  part  of  the  diet. 
Do  not  let  the  animal  gorge  itself.  However  lively  it 
may  seem  to  be,  and  however  eager  may  be  its  hunger, 
let  the  quantity  be  proportioned  to  the  requirements  inde- 
pendent of  the  voracity.  Above  all,  do  not  tempt  and 
coax  the  dog  to  eat,  under  the  foolish  idea  that  the  body 
will  strengthen  or  fatten,  because  a  great  deal  is  taken 
into  the  stomach.  We  are  not  nourished  by  what  we 
swallow,  but  by  that  which  we  digest ;  and  too  much,  by 
distending  the  stomach  and  loading  the  intestines,  retards 
the  natural  powers  of  appropriation  ;  just  as  a  man  may 
be  prevented  from  walking  by  a  weight  which,  neverthe- 
less, he  may  be  able  to  support.  Give  enough,  but  divide 
it  into  at  least  three  meals — four  or  five  will  be  better — 
and  let  the  animal  have  them  at  stated  periods,  taking 
care  that  it  never  at  one  time  has  as  much  as  it  can  eat : 
and  by  degrees  return  to  the  ordinary  mode  of  feed- 
ing. 

The  fainting  fits  create  great  alarm,  but,  if  properly 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  177 

treated,  they  are  very  trivial  affairs.  An  ethereal  enema, 
and  a  dose  or  two  of  the  medicine,  will  generally  restore 
the  animal.  No  other  physic  is  needed,  but  greater 
attention  to  the  feeding  is  required.  Excessive  exercise 
will  cause  them,  and  the  want  of  exercise  will  also  bring 
them  on.  The  open  air  is  of  every  service,  and  will  do 
more  for  the  perfect  recovery  than  almost  anything  else. 
When  the  scarf-skin  peels  off,  a  cold  bath  with  plenty  of 
friction,  and  a  walk  afterwards,  is  frequently  highly 
beneficial ;  but  there  are  dogs  with  which  it  does  not 
agree,  and,  consequently,  the  action  must  be  watched. 
Never  persevere  with  anything  that  seems  to  be  injurious. 
If  the  mange  breaks  out,  a  simple  dressing  as  directed 
for  that  disease  will  remove  it,  no  internal  remedies  being 
in  such  a  case  required. 

I  cannot  close  my  account  of  distemper  without  cau- 
tioning the  reader  against  the  too  long  use  of  quinine. 
It  is  a  most  valuable  medicine,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  no 
less  safe  than  useful.  I  do  not  know  that  it  can  act  as  a 
poison,  or  destroy  the  life ;  but  it  can  produce  evils 
hardly  less,  and  more  difficult  to  cure,  than  those  it  was 
employed  to  eradicate.  The  most  certain  and  most  potent 
febrifuge,  and  the  most  active  tonic,  it  can  also  induce 
blindness  and  deafness  ;  and  by  the  too  long  or  too  large 
employment  of  quinine  a  fever  is  induced,  which  hangs 
upon  the  dog,  and  keeps  him  thin  for  many  a  month. 
Therefore,  when  the  more  violent  stages  of  the  disease 
have  been  conquered,  it  should  no  longer  be  employed. 
Other  tonics  will  then  do  quite  as  well,  and  a  change  of 

5* 


178  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

medicine  often  performs  that  which  no  one,  if  persevered 
with,  will  accomplish. 

All  writers,  when  treating  of  distemper,  speak  of  worms, 
and  give  directions  for  their  removal  during  the  existence 
of  the  disease.  I  know  they  are  too  often  present,  and 
I  am  afraid  they  too  often  aggravate  the  symptoms  ;  but 
it  is  no  easy  matter  to  judge  precisely  when  they  do  or 
when  they  do  not  exist.  The  remedies  most  to  be  de- 
pended upon  for  their  destruction,  are  not  such  as  can  be 
beneficial  to  the  animal  laboring  under  this  disorder  ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  tonic  course  of  treatment  I  propose 
is  very  likely  to  be  destructive  to  the  worms.  Therefore, 
rather  than  risk  the  possibility  of  doing  harm,  I  rely  upon 
the  tonics,  and  have  no  reason  to  repent  the  confidence 
evinced  in  this  particular. 

The  treatment  of  distemper  consists  in  avoiding  all  and 
everything  which  can  debilitate ;  it  is,  simply,  strength- 
ening by  medicine  aided  by  good  nursing.  It  is  neither 
mysterious  nor  complex,  but  is  both  clear  and  simple 
when  once  understood.  It  was  ignorance  alone  which 
induced  men  to  resort  to  filth  and  cruelty  for  the  relief  of 
that  which  is  not  difficult  to  cure.  In  animals,  I  am  cer- 
tain, kindness  is  ninety-nine  parts  of  what  passes  for 
wisdom  ;  and,  in  man,  I  do  not  think  the  proportion  is 
much  less  ;  for  how  often  does  the  mother's  love  preserve 
the  life  which  science  abandons  !  To  dogs  we  may  be  a 
little  experimental ;  and  with  these  creatures,  therefore, 
there  is  no  objection  to  trying  the  effects  of  those  gentler 
feelings,  which  the  very  philosophical  sneer  at  as  the  in- 


DOGS'.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  179 

dieations  of  weakness.  When  I  am  called  to  see  a  dog, 
if  there  be  a  lady  for  its  nurse,  I  am  always  more  certain 
as  to  the  result ;  for  the  medicines  I  send  then  seem  to 
have  twice  the  effect. 


MOUTH,   TEETH,    TONGUE,    GULLET,    ETC 

THE  mouth  of  the  dog  is  not  subject  to  many  diseases ; 
but  it  sometimes  occasions  misery  to  the  animal.  Much 
of  such  suffering  is  consequent  upon  the  folly  and  thought- 
lessness of  people,  who,  having  power  given  them  over 
life,  act  as  though  the  highest  gift  of  God  could  be  ren- 
dered secondary  to  the  momentary  pleasure  of  man.  No 
matter  in  what  form  vitality  may  appear — for  itself  it  is 
sacred ;  it  has  claims  and  rights,  which  it  Is  equally  idle 
and  ridiculous  to  deny  or  to  dispute.  The  law  of  the  land 
may  declare  and  make  man  to  have  a  possession  in  a 
beast ;  but  no  act  of  parliament  ever  yet  enacted  has 
placed  health  and  life  among  human  property.  The  body 
may  be  the  master's  ;  but  the  spirit  that  supports  and 
animates  it  is  reserved  to  another.  Disease  and  death 
will  resent  torture,  and  rescue  the  afflicted ;  he  who  un- 
dertakes the  custody  of  an  animal  is  morally  and  re- 
ligiously answerable  for  its  happiness.  To  make  happy 
becomes  then  a  duty ;  and  to  care  for  the  welfare  is  an 
obligation.  Too  little  is  thought  of  this  ;  and  the  fact  is 
not  yet  credited.  The  gentleman  will  sport  with  the 
agony  of  animals  ;  and  to  speak  of  consideration  for  the 


180  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

brute,  is  regarded  either  as  an  eccentricity  or  an  affecta- 
tion. This  is  the  case  generally  at  the  present  time ;  and 
it  is  strange  it  should  be  so,  since  Providence,  from  the 
creation  of  the  earth,  has  been  striving  to  woo  and  to  teach 
us  to  entertain  gentler  sentiments.  No  one  ever  played 
with  cruelty  but  he  lost  by  the  game,  and  still  the  sport 
is  fashionable.  No  one  ever  spared  or  relieved  the  mean- 
est creature  but  in  his  feelings  he  was  rewarded ;  and  yet 
are  there  comparatively  few  who  will  seek  such  pleasure. 
Neither  through  our  sensibilities  nor  our  interests  are  we 
quick  to  learn  that  which  Heaven  itself  is  constantly 
striving  to  impress. 

The  dog  is  our  companion,  our  servant,  and  our  friend. 
With  more  than  matrimonial  faith  does  the  honorable 
beast  wed  itself  to  man.  In  sickness  and  in  health,  lite- 
rally does  it  obey,  serve,  love,  and  honor.  Absolutely 
does  it  cleave  only  unto  one,  forsaking  all  others — for 
even  from  its  own  species  does  it  separate  itself,  devoting 
its  hea.t  to  man.  In  the  very  spirit  and  to  the  letter  of 
the  contract  does  it  yield  itself,  accepting  its  life's  load 
for  better,  for  worse — for  richer,  for  poorer — in  sickness 
and  in  health — to  love,  cherish,  and  to  obey  till  death. 
The  name  of  the  animal  may  be  a  reproach,  but  the  af- 
fection of  the  dog  realizes  the  ideal  of  conjugal  fidelity. 
Nevertheless,  with  all  its  estimable  qualities,  it  is  despised, 
and  we  know  not  how  to  prize,  or  in  what  way  to  treat 
it.  It  is  the  inmate  of  our  homes,  and  the  associate  of  our 
leisure  :  and  yet  its  requirements  are  not  recognised,  nor 
its  necessities  appreciated.  Its  docility  and  intelligence 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT,  181 

are  employed  to  undermine  its  health  ;  and  its  willingness 
to  learn  and  to  obey  is  converted  into  a  reason  for  des- 
troying its  constitution.  What  it  can  do  we  are  content 
to  assume  it  was  intended  to  perform  ;  and  that  which  it 
will  eat  we  are  satisfied  to  assert  was  destined  to  be  its 
food. 

Bones,  stones,  and  bricks,  are  not  beneficial  to  dogs. 
The  animals  may  be  tutored  to  carry  the  two  last,  and 
impelled  by  hunger  they  will  eat  the  first.  Hard  sub- 
stances and  heavy  weights,  however,  when  firmly  grasp- 
ed, of  course  wear  the  teeth  ;  and  the  organs  of  masti- 
cation are  even  more  valuable  to  the  meanest  cur  than  to 
the  wealthiest  dame.  If  the  mouth  of  the  human  being 
be  toothless,  the  cook  can  be  told  to  provide  for  the  occa- 
sion, or  the  dentist  will  in  a  great  measure  supply  the 
loss.  But  the  toothless  dog  must  eat  its  customary  food ; 
and  it  must  do  this,  although  the  last  stump  or  remaining 
fang  be  excoriating  the  lips,  and  ulcerating  the  gums. 
The  ability  to  crush,  and  the  power  to  digest  bones,  is 
thought  to  be  a  proof  that  dogs  were  made  to  thrive  upon 
such  diet ;  and  Blaine  speaks  of  a  meal  of  bones  as  a 
wholesome  canine  dish.  I  beg  the  owners  of  dogs  not  to 
be  led  away  by  so  unfounded  an  opinion.  A  bone  to  a 
dog  is  a  treat,  and  one  which  should  not  be  denied  ;  but 
it  should  come  in  only  as  a  kind  of  dessert  after  a  hearty 
meal.  Then  the  creature  will  not  strain  to  break  and 
strive  to  swallow  it ;  but  it  will  amuse  itself  picking  off 
little  bits,  and  at  the  same  time  benefit  itself  by  cleaning 
its  teeth.  Much  more  ingenuity  than  force  will  be  em- 


182  "DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

ployed,  and  the  mouth  will  not  be  injured.  In  a  state  of 
nature  this  would  be  the  regular  course.  The  dog  when 
wild  hunts  its  prey  ;  and,  having  caught,  proceeds  to 
feast  upon  the  flesh,  which  it  tears  off;  this,  being  soft, 
does  not  severely  tax  the  masticating  members.  When 
the  stomach  is  filled,  the  skeleton  may  be  polished ;  but 
hungry  dogs  never  take  to  bones  when  there  is  a  choice 
of  meat.  It  is  a  mistaken  charity  which  throws  a  bone 
to  a  starving  hound. 

Equally  injurious  to  the  teeth,  are  luxuries  which 
disorder  the  digestion.  High  breeding  likewise  will  ren- 
der the  mouth  toothless  at  a  very  early  age ;  but  of  all 
things  the  very  worst  is  salivation,  which,  by  the  igno- 
rant people  who  undertake  to  cure  the  diseases  of  these 
sensitive  and  delicate  animals,  is  often  induced  though 
seldom  recognised,  and  if  recognised,  always  left  to  take 
its  course. 

The  mouth  of  the  dog  is  therefore  exposed  to  several 
evils ;  and  there  are  not  many  of  these  animals  which 
retain  their  teeth  even  at  the  middle  age.  High-bred 
spaniels  are  the  soonest  toothless  ;  hard  or  luxurious 
feeding  rapidly  makes  bare  the  gums.  Stones,  bones, 
&c.,  wear  down  the  teeth  ;  but  the  stumps  become 
sources  of  irritation,  and  often  cause  disease.  Saliva- 
tion may,  according  to  its  violence,  either  remove  all  the 
teeth,  or  discolor  any  that  may  be  retained.  The  hale 
dog's  teeth,  if  properly  cared  for,  will  generally  last 
during  the  creature's  life ;  and  continue  white  almost 
to  the  remotest  period  of  its  existence.  I  have  seen 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  183 

very  aged  animals  with  beautiful  mouths  ;  but  such 
sights,  for  the  reasons  which  have  been  pointed  out,  are 
unfortunately  rare.  The  teeth  of  the  dog,  however,  may 
be  perfectly  clean  and  entire  even  at  the  twelfth  year ; 
and  it  is  no  more  than  folly  to  pretend  that  these  organs 
are  in  any  way  indicative  of  the  age  of  this  animal. 
They  are  of  no  further  importance  to  a  purchaser  than 
as  signs  which  denote  the  state  of  the  system,  and  show 
the  uses  to  which  the  animal  has  been  subjected.  The 
primary  teeth  are  cut  sometimes  as  early  as  the  third 
week  ;  but,  in  the  same  litter,  one  pup  may  not  show 
more  than  the  point  of  an  incisor  when  it  is  six  weeks 
old ;  while  another  may  display  all  those  teeth  well  up. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  permanent  incisors  begin  to  come 
up  about  the  fourth  month ;  but  I  have  known  a  dog  to 
be  ten  months  old,  and,  nevertheless,  to  have  all  the 
temporary  teeth  in  its  head.  The  deviations,  conse- 
quently, are  so  great  that  no  rule  can  be  laid  down ;  and 
every  person  who  pretends  to  judge  of  the  dog's  age  by 
the  teeth  is  either  deceived  himself,  or  practising  upon 
the  ignorance  of  others. 

Strong  pups  require  no  attention  during  dentition ;  but 
high-bred  and  weakly  animals  should  be  constantly 
watched  during  this  period.  When  a  tooth  is  loose,  it 
should  be  drawn  at  once,  and  never  suffered  to  remain 
a  useless  source  of  irritation.  If  suffered  to  continue 
in  the  mouth,  it  will  ultimately  become  tightened  ;  and 
the  food  or  portions  of  hair  getting  and  lodging  between 
it  and  the  permanent  teeth,  will  inflame  the  gum,  and 


184  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

cause  the  beast  considerable  suffering.  The  extraction 
at  first  is  so  slight  an  operation,  that  when  undertaken 
by  a  person  having  the  proper  instruments,  and  know- 
ing how  to  use  them,  the  pup  does  not  even  vent  a  sin- 
gle cry.  The  temporary  tusks  of  small  dogs  are  very 
commonly  retained  after  the  permanent  ones  are  fully  up, 
and  if  not  removed,  will  remain  perhaps  during  the  life ; 
they  become  firm  and  fixed,  the  necks  being  united  to 
the  bone.  '  This  is  more  common  in  the  upper  than  in 
the  lower  jaw,  but  I  have  seen  it  in  both.  Diminutive 
high-bred  animals  rarely  shed  the  primary  tusks  natural- 
ly ;  therefore,  when  the  incisors  have  been  cut,  and  the 
permanent  fang  teeth  begin  to  make  their  appearance 
through  the  gums,  the  temporary  ones  ought,  as  fre- 
quently as  possible,  to  be  moved  backward  and  forward 
with  the  finger,  in  order  to  loosen  them.  When  that  is 
accomplished,  they  should  be  extracted,  which  if  not 
done  at  this  time  will  afterwards  be  difficult.  As  the 
tooth  becomes  again  fixed,  filth  of  various  kinds  accumu- 
lates between  it  and  the  permanent  tusk ;  the  animal 
feeds  in  pain,  the  gum  swells  and  ulcerates,  and  some- 
times the  permanent  tusk  falls  out,  but  the  cause  of  the 
injury  never  naturally  comes  away. 

To  extract  a  temporary  tusk  after  it  has  reset  is 
somewhat  difficult,  and  is  not  to  be  undertaken  by  every 
bungler.  The  gum  must  be  deeply  lanced  ;  and  a  small 
scalpel  made  for  the  purpose  answers  better  than  the 
ordinary  gum  lancet.  The  instrument  having  been 
passed  all  round  the  neck  of  the  tooth,  the  gum  i* 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  185 

with  the  forceps  to  be  driven  or  pushed  away,  and  the 
hold  to  be  taken  as  high  as  possible  ;  firm  traction  is 
then  to  be  made,  the  hand  of  the  operator  being  stea- 
died by  the  thumb  placed  against  the  point  of  the  per- 
manent tusk.  As  the  temporary  teeth  are  almost  as 
brittle  as  glass,  and  as  the  animal  invariably  moves  its 
head  about,  endeavoring  to  escape,  some  care  must  be 
exercised  to  prevent  the  tooth  being  broken.  However, 
if  it  is  thoroughly  set,  we  must  not  expect  to  draw  it 
with  the  fang  entire,  for  that  has  become  absorbed,  and 
the  neck  is  united  to  the  jawbone.  The  object,  there- 
fore, in  such  cases,  is  to  grasp  the  tooth  as  high  up  as 
possible,  and  break  it  off  so  that  the  gum  may  close  over 
any  small  remainder  of  the  fang  which  shall  be  left  in 
the  mouth.  The  operator,  therefore,  makes  his  pull  with 
this  intention ;  and  when  the  tooth  gives  way,  he  feels, 
to  discover  if  his  object  has  been  accomplished.  Should 
any  projecting  portion  of  tooth,  or  little  point  of  dislodg- 
ed bone  be  felt,  these  must  be  removed ;  and  in  less  than 
a  day  the  wound  shows  a  disposition  to  heal  ;  but  it 
should  afterwards  be  inspected  occasionally,  in  case  of 
accidents. 

When  foulness  of  the  mouth  is  the  consequence  of  the 
system  of  breeding,  the  constitution  must  be  invigorated 
by  the  employment  of  such  medicines  as  the  symptoms 
indicate  ;  and  the  teeth  no  further  interfered  with  than 
may  be  required  either  for  the  health,  caoc,  or  cleanliness 
of  the  animal. 

From  age,  improper  food,  and  disease  conjoined,  the 


186  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

dog's  mouth  is  frequently  a  torture  to  the  beast,  and  a 
nuisance  to  all  about  it.  The  teeth  grow  black  from  an 
incrustation  of  tartar  ;  the  insides  of  the  lips  ulcerate  ;  the 
gums  bleed  at  the  slightest  touch,  and  the  breath  stinks 
most  intolerably.  The  dog  will  not  eat,  and  sometimes 
is  afraid  even  to  drink ;  the  throat  is  sore,  and  saliva 
dribbles  from  the  mouth ;  the  animal  loses  flesh,  and  is  a 
picture  of  misery. 

When  such  is  the  case,  the  cure  must  be  undertaken 
with  all  regard  to  the  dog's  condition  ;  harm  only  will 
follow  brutality  or  haste.  The  animal  must  be  humored, 
and  the  business  must  be  got  through  little  by  little.  In 
some  very  bad  cases  of  this  description  I  have  had  no 
less  than  three  visits  before  my  patient  was  entirely 
cleansed.  At  the  first  sitting  I  examine  the  mouth,  and 
with  a  small  probe  seek  for  every  remnant  of  a  stump, 
trying  the  firmness  of  every  remaining  tooth.  All  that 
are  quite  looso  are  extracted  first,  and  then  the  stumps 
are  drawn,  the  gums  being  lanced  where  it  is  necessary. 
This  over,  I  employ  a  weak  solution  of  the  chloride  of 
zinc — a  grain  to  an  ounce  of  sweetened  water — as  a  lotion, 
and  send  the  dog  home,  ordering  the  mouth,  gums,  teeth, 
and  lips  to  be  well  washed  with  it,  at  least  three  times  in 
the  course  of  a  day.  In  four  days  the  animal  is  brought 
to  me  again,  and  then  I  scale  the  teeth  with  instruments 
similar  to  those  employed  by  the  human  dentist,  only  of 
a  small  size.  The  dog  resists  this  operation  more  stoutly 
than  it  generally  does  the  extraction,  and  patience  is  im- 
perative. The  operation  will  be  the  more  quickly  got 
over  by  taking  time,  and  exerting  firmness  without 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  18 

severity.  A  loud  word  or  a  box  on  the  ear  may  on  some 
occasions  be  required  ;  but  on  no  account  should  a  blow 
be  given,  or  anything  done  to  provoke  the  anger  of  the 
animal.  The  mistress  or  master  should  never  be  present ; 
for  the  cunning  brute  will  take  advantage  of  their  fond- 
ness, and  sham  so  artfully  that  it  will  be  useless  to  attempt 
to  proceed. 

I  usually  have  no  assistance,  but  carry  the  dog  into  a 
room  by  itself ;  and  having  spoken  to  it,  or  taken  such 
little  liberties  as  denote  my  authority,  I  commence  the 
more  serious  part  of  the  business.  Amidst  remonstrance 
and  expostulation,  caresses  and  scolding,  the  work  then 
is  got  over  ;  but  seldom  so  thoroughly  that  a  little  further 
attention  is  not  needed,  which  is  given  on  the  following 
day. 

The  incrustation  on  the  dog's  teeth,  more  especially  on 
the  fangs,  is  often  very  thick.  It  is  best  removed  by  get- 
ting the  instrument  between  the  substance  and  the  gum  ; 
then  with  a  kind  of  wrenching  action  snapping  it  away, 
when  frequently  it  will  shell  off  in  large  flakes;  the 
remaining  portions  should  be  scraped,  and  the  tooth 
should  afterwards  look  white,  or  nearly  so.  The  instru- 
ment may  be  used  without  any  fear  of  injuring  the  enamel, 
which  is  so  hard  that  steel  can  make  no  impression  on  it ; 
but  there  is  always  danger  of  hurting  the  gums,  and  as 
the  resistance  of  the  dog  increases  this,  the  practitioner 
must  exert  himself  to  guard  against  it.  Some  precaution 
also  will  be  necessary  to  thwart  occasional  attempts  to 
bite  ;  but  a  little  practice  will  give  all  the  needful  protec- 
tion, and  those  who  are  not  accustomed  to  such  operations 


188  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

will  best  save  themselves  by  not  hitting  the  dog ;  for  the 
teeth  are  almost  certain  to  mark  the  hand  that  strikes. 
Firmness  will  gain  submission ;  cruelty  will  only  get  up 
a  quarrel,  in  which  the  dog  will  conquer,  and  the  man, 
even  if  he  prove  victorious,  can  win  nothing.  He  who  is 
cleaning  canine  teeth  must  not  expect  to  earn  the  love 
of  his  patient ;  the  liberty  taken  is  so  great  that  it  is  never 
afterwards  pardoned.  I  scarcely  ever  yet  have  known 
the  dog  to  which  I  was  not  subsequently  an  object  of 
dread  and  hatred.  Grateful  and  intelligent  as  these  crea- 
tures are,  I  have  not  found  one  simple  or  noble-minded 
enough  to  appreciate  a  dentist. 

The  only  direction  I  have  to  add  to  the  above,  con- 
cerns the  means  necessary  to  guard  against  a  relapse,  and 
to  afford  general  relief  to  the  constitution.  To  effect  the 
first  object,  prepare  a  weak  solution  of  chloride  of  zinc — 
one  grain  to  the  ounce — and  flavor  the  liquid  with  oil  of 
aniseed.  This  give  to  your  employer,  together  with  a 
small  stencilling,  or  pooiiah  painting  brush,  which  is  a  stiff 


brush  used  in  certain  mechanical  pursuits  of  art ;  desire 
him  to  saturate  the  brush  in  the  liquid,  and  with  it  to 
clean  the  dog's  teeth  every  morning ;  which,  if  done  as 
directed,  will  prevent,  fresh  tartar  accumulating,  and  in 
time  remove  any  portion  that  may  have  escaped  the  eye 
of  the  operator,  sweetening  the  animal's  breath.  With 
regard  to  that  medicine  the  constitution  may  require,  it 


DOGS  '.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  189 

is  impossible  to  say  what  the  different  kinds  of  dogs 
affected  may  necessitate — none  can  be  named  here ;  the 
symptoms  must  be  observed,  and  according  to  these  should 
be  the  treatment ;  which  must  be  studied  from  the  prin- 
ciples inculcated  throughout  this  work.  Most  usually, 
however,  tonics,  stimulants,  and  alteratives  will  be 
required,  and  their  operation  will  be  gratifying.  The 
dog,  which  before  was  offensive  and  miserable,  may 
speedily  become  comfortable  and  happy ;  and  should  the 
errors  which  induced  its  misfortune  be  afterwards  avoided, 
it  may  continue  to  enjoy  its  brief  life  up  to  the  latest 
moment ;  therefore  the  teeth  should  never  be  neglected  ; 
but  if  any  further  reason  be  required  to  enforce  the  neces- 
sity of  attending-  to  the  mouth,  surely  it  might  be  found 
in  the  frightful  disease  to  which  it  is  occasionally  sub- 
ject. 

When  the  teeth,  either  by  decay  or  from  excessive  wear, 
have  been  reduced  to  mere  stumps,  their  vitality  often  is 
lost.  They  then  act  as  foreign  bodies,  and  inflame  the 
parts  adjacent  to  them.  Should  that  inflammation  not  be 
attended  to,  it  extends,  first  involving  the  bones  of  the 
lower  jaw,  and  afterwards  the  gums,  and  CANKER  OF  THE 
MOUTH  is  established. 

Such  is  the  course  of  the  disease,  the  symptoms  of 
which  are  redness  and  swelling  during  the  commencement. 
Suppuration  from  time  to  time  appears ;  but  as  the  animal 
with  its  tongue  removes  the  pus,  this  last  effect  may  not 
be  observed.  The  enlargement  increases,  till  at  last  a 
hard  body  seems  to  be  formed  on  the  jaw,  immediately 
beneath  the  skin.  The  surface  of  the  gums  may  be  ten- 


190  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

der,  and  bleed  on  being  touched,  but  the  tumor  itself  is 
not  painful  when  it  first  appears,  and  throughout  its 
course  is  not  highly  sensitive.  At  length  it  discharges  a 
thin  fluid,  which  is  sometimes  mingled  with  pus,  and 
generally  with  more  or  less  blood.  The  stench  which 
ultimately  is  given  off  becomes  powerful ;  and  a  mass  of 
proud  flesh  grows  upon  the  part,  while  sinuses  form  in 
various  directions.  Hemorrhage  now  is  frequent  and 
profuse,  and  we  have  to  deal  with  a  cancerous  affection, 
which  probably  it  may  not  be  in  our  power  to  alleviate. 
The  dog,  which  does  not  appear  to  suffer,  by  its  actions 
encourages  the  belief  that  it  endures  no  acute  pain — and 
for  a  length  of  time  maintains  its  condition  ;  but,  in  the 
end,  the  flesh  wastes  and  the  strength  gives  way ;  the  sore 
enlarges,  and  the  animal  may  die  of  any  disease  to  which 
its  state  predisposes  it  to  be  attacked. 

The  treatment  consists  in  searching  for  any  stump  or 
portion  of  tooth  that  may  be  retained.  All  such  must  be 
extracted,  and  also  all  the  molars  on  the  diseased  side, 
without  any  regard  to  the  few  which  may  be  left  in  the 
jaw.  This  done,  the  constitution  must  be  strengthened, 
and  pills,  as  directed,  with  the  liquor  arsenicalis,  should 
be  employed  for  that  purpose. 

Iodide  of  iron  ....  One  to  four  grains. 

Powdered  nux  vomica  .  A  quarter  of  a  grain  to  one  grain. 

Salicine One  to  four  grains. 

Extract  of  gentian     .     .  Three  to  twelve  grains. 

Powdered  quassia     .    .  As  much  as  may  be  required. 

The  above  forms  one  pill,  three  or  four  of  which  should 


DOGS:    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  191 

be  given  daily,  with  any  other  medicine  which  the  case 
may  require. 

To  the  part  itself  a  weak  solution  of  the  chloride  of 
zinc  may  be  used ;  but  nothing  further  should  be  done 
until  the  system  has  been  invigorated,  and  the  health,  as 
far  as  possible,  restored.  That  being  accomplished,  if 
the  tumor  is  still  perfect,  it  should  be  cut  down  upon 
and  removed.  If  any  part  of  the  bone  is  diseased,  so 
much  should  be  taken  away  as  will  leave  a  healthy 
surface. 

However,  before  the  dog  is  brought  to  the  veterinary 
surgeon  for  treatment,  very  often  the  tumor  has  lost  its 
integrity,  and  there  is  a  running  sore  to  be  healed.  To 
this  probably  some  ignorant  persons  have  been  applying 
caustics  and  erodents,  which  have  done  much  harm,  and 
caused  it  to  increase.  In  such  a  case  we  strengthen  the 
constitution  by  all  possible  means,  and  to  the  part  order 
fomentations  of  a  decoction  of  poppy-heads,  containing 
chloride  of  zinc  in  minute  quantities.  Other  anodyne 
applications  may  also  be  employed ;  the  object  being  to 
allay  any  existing  irritation,  for  the  chloride  is  merely 
added  to  correct  the  fetor,  which  at  this  period  is  never 
.  absent.  After  some  days  we  strive  to  ascertain  what 
action  the  internal  remedies  have  had  upon  the  cancer ; 
for  by  this  circumstance  the  surgeon  will  decide  whether 
he  is  justified  in  hazarding  an  operation.  If  the  health 
has  improved,  but  simultaneously  the  affected  part  has 
become  worse,  then  the  inference  is  unfavorable ;  for  the 
disease  is  no  longer  to  be  regarded  as  local.  The  consti- 


192  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

tution  is  involved,  and  an  operation  would  produce  no 
benefit,  but  hasten  the  death,  while  it  added  to  the  suf- 
fering of  the  beast.  The  growth  would  be  reproduced, 
and  its  effects  would  be  more  violent ;  consequently 
nothing  further  can  be  done  beyond  supporting  the  sys- 
tem, and  alleviating  any  torture  the  animal  may  endure. 
But  if  the  body  has  improved,  and  the  tumor  has 
remained  stationary,  or  is  suspected  to  be  a  little  better, 
the  knife  may  be  resorted  to ;  although  the  chance  of 
cure  is  rather  against  success.  The  age  of  the  animal, 
and  the  predisposition  to  throw  out  tumors  of  this 
nature,  are  against  the  result ;  for  too  frequently,  after 
the  jaw  has  healed,  some  distant  part  is  attacked  with  a 
disease  of  a  similar  character. 

WORMING,  as  it  is  generally  called,  is  often  practised 
upon  dogs,  and  both  Elaine  and  Youatt  give  directions 
for  its  performance.  I  shall  not  follow  their  examples. 
It  is  a  needless,  and  therefore  a  cruel  operation;  and 
though  often  requested  to  do  so,  I  never  will  worm  a  dog. 
Several  persons,  some  high  in  rank,  have  been  offended 
by  my  refusal ;  but  my  profession  has  obligations  which 
may  not  be  infringed  for  the  gratification  of  individuals. 
People  who  talk  of  a  worm  in  the  tongue  of  a  dog,  only 
show  their  ignorance,  and  by  requesting  it  should  be 
removed,  expose  their  want  of  feeling. 

Pups,  when  about  half-grown,  are  sometimes  seized 
with  an  inclination  to  destroy  all  kinds  of  property. 
Ladies  are  often  vexed  by  discovering  the  havoc  which 
their  little  favorites  have  made  with  articles  of  millinery ; 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  193 

gloves,  shawls,  and  bonnets,  are  pulled  to  pieces  with  a 
seeming  zest  for  mischief,  and  the  culprit  is  found  wagging 
its  tail  for  joy  among  the  wreck  it  has  occasioned.  Great 
distress  is  created  by  this  propensity,  and  a  means  to 
check  it  is  naturally  sought  for.  Mangling  the  tongue 
will  not  have  the  desired  effect.  For  a  few  days  pain 
may  make  the  animal  disinclined  to  use  its  mouth ;  but 
when  this  ceases,  the  teeth  will  be  employed  as  ingeni- 
ously as  before.  Some  good  is  accomplished  by  clipping 
the  temporary  fangs :  these  are  very  brittle,  and  easily 
cut  through.  The  excision  causes  no  pain,  but  the 
point  being  gone,  the  dog's  pleasure  is  destroyed ;  and, 
as  these  teeth  will  naturally  be  soon  shed,  no  injury  of 
any  consequence  is  inflicted.  By  such  a  simple  measure, 
more  benefit  than  worming  ever  produced  is  secured  ;  for 
in  the  last  case,  almost  in  every  instance,  the  obnoxious 
habit  entirely  ceases. 

As  to  worming  being  of  any,  even  the  slightest,  pro- 
tection, in  case  rabies  should  attack  the  dog,  the  idea 
is  so  preposterous,  that  I  shall  not  here  stay  to  no- 
tice it. 

The  tongue  of  the  high-bred  spaniel  is  often  subject  to 
partial  paralysis  of  one  side.  When  such  is  the  case,  the 
muscles  of  the  healthy  side  draw  the  tongue  in  that 
direction ;  and  the  member  hangs  out  of  the  mouth,  ren- 
dering the  appearance  somewhat  unsightly.  The  organ 
from  exposure  becomes  dry  and  hard  ;  and  not  being 
properly  used  to  cleanse  the  nose,  this  last  becomes  harsh 
and  encrusted  upon  such  portion  of  its  surface  as  the 
disabled  tongue  cannot  reach.  The  dog  is  disfigured, 


194  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

but  it  manages  to  live,  and  seems  to  endure  more  incon- 
venience than  positive  pain.  The  muscles  on  the  para- 
lysed side  do  not  appear  to  be  entirely  deprived  of 
nervous  power.  I  infer  this  to  be  the  case  because  they 
do  not  waste,  and  therefore  attribute  the  affection  to  loss 
of  tone  rather  than  to  actual  palsy. 

V 

The  cause  is  not  known.  Some  dogs  are  pupped  in 
this  condition  ;  others  are  only  affected  in  this  way  when 
age  has  far  advanced.  In  the  latter  case  the  symptom  is 
sudden,  and  nothing  previous  has  been  observed  which 
would  denote  the  probability  of  the  attack  ;  but,  arguing 
from  the  description  of  animals  which  are  subject  to  this 
affection,  and  the  periods  .when  it  mostly  is  exhibited,  we 
may  attribute  it  to  weakness  of  the  constitution. 

For  the  disease  nothing  of  a  local  nature  can  be  done. 
I  have  been  induced  to  try  various  topical  remedies,  but 
not  with  any  satisfactory  result ;  and  I  am  not  very  hope- 
ful as  to  future  experiments  in  the  same  direction.  Con- 
stitutional remedies  have  more  power ;  and  by  these,  if 
we  cannot  cure,  we  may  limit  the  evil.  For  pups,  good 
nursing — not  petting  or  pampering,  but  whatever  can 
invigorate — wholesome  diet,  airy  lodging,  and  sufficient 
exercise,  will  do  much.  For  older  animals,  the  same 
measures,  combined  with  such  medicines  as  correct  the 
digestion  and  give  tone  to  the  system,  will  be  proper. 
An  operation  of  dividing  the  muscles  of  that  side  on 
which  the  tongue  protruded  was  once  successful ;  but  on 
three  subsequent  occasions  it  failed,  and  I  have  therefore 
relinquished  it ;  for  it  is  not  quite  safe,  and  puts  the  ani- 


DOGS'.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  195 

mal  to  a  great  deal  of  suffering.  Dog  fanciers  sometimes 
cut  off  the  exposed  portion  of  the  tongue,  and  thereby 
conceal  the  defect ;  but  this  is  a  brutal  custom,  and  should 
not  be  adopted.  The  animal  so  mutilated  drinks  with 
difficulty,  and  the  nose  ultimately  becomes  even  more  un- 
sightly than  was  the  appearance  of  the  hanging  tongue. 

The  tongue  is  sometimes  injured  by  the  teeth,  espe- 
cially during  fits.  In  such  cases  the  wounds  generally 
heal  quickly,  and  require  no  special  attention.  Should 
the  sores  not  mend,  the  fault  is  in  the  system.  To  that, 
and  not  to  the  part,  medicines  should  be  directed,  and  the 
matter  will  be  quickly  settled. 

Salivation  should  never  be  produced  upon  the  dog. 
The  largest  and  strongest  of  these  animals  can  but  ill 
sustain  the  constitutional  effects  of  mercury  ;  while  to 
those  of  a  delicate  kind  it  is  nearly  certain  death.  It 
may  be  induced  by  inunction,  or  rubbing  in  of  ointment, 
as  surely  as  by  calomel  internally  administered.  Che- 
mists mix  up  various  ointments  that  are  called  black,  blue, 
red,  white,  or  yellow  ;  and  sell  these  as  specifics  for  skin 
diseases,  which  are  in  the  dog  all  denominated  mange. 
Such  things  are  applied  to  the  entire  surface  of  the  body ; 
and  as  they  mostly  contain  either  Turpeth  or  Ethiop's 
mineral  calomel,  or  one  of  the  preparations  of  mercury, 
no  great  time  is  required  to  produce  their  fullest  effect. 
The  operation  of  the  metal  is  too  frequently  mistaken 
for  an  aggravation  of  the  disorder  ;  and  when  the  chemist 
is  next  visited,  he  is  told  to  make  the  stuff  stronger,  be- 
cause the  other  made  the  dog  worse.  No  warning  nature 


196  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

can  give  will  stop  the  proceeding.  Night  and  day  the 
dog  is  rubbed  with  the  poison,  till  its  gums  are  sore,  or 
its  teeth  fall  out ;  the  saliva  dribbles  from  the  mouth  ;  the 
glands  enlarge,  the  dog  refusing  to  eat,  and  is  so  weak 
that  it  can  hardly  stand  ;  then,  fearing  death,  a  doubt  is 
for  the  first  time  entertained,  and  a  veterinary  surgeon  is 
requested  to  look  at  the  animal,  and  say  what  it  wants. 

Chemists  are  not  qualified  to  administer  the  drugs  they 
sell  to  human  beings  ;  but  they  are  fairly  the  murderers 
of  a  fourth  part  of  the  dogs  they  physic.  They  know 
nothing  about  these  animals,  and  dispense  poison  under 
the  name  of  medicine  when  they  presume  to  treat  them. 
I  have  had  creatures  brought  to  me  in  the  most  terrible 
condition ;  and  when  they  have  been  under  domestic 
treatment — that  is,  when  the  chemist  has  been  consulted 
— I  always  look  to  find  symptoms  of  salivation.  The 
signs  are  not  obscure ;  the  gums  are  either  soft,  tender, 
and  inflamed,  or  else  very  much  retracted  ;  the  teeth  are 
of  a  yellow  or  brownish  color,  loose  and  mottled  on  their 
surfaces,  but  not  covered  with  tartar ;  the  breath  has  a 
peculiar  fetor,  and  the  saliva  flows  from  the  lips,  while  the 
glands  at  the  jaw  are  hard  ;  the  weakness  is  excessive, 
and  the  appearance  dejected.  Purgation  may  be  present, 
and  in  some  instances  the  whole  of  the  hair  has  fallen 
off.  One  dog,  a  Scotch  terrier,  lost  every  portion  of  its 
coat,  and  was  nearly  a  year  before  it  regained  the  covering. 

Here  is  a  portrait  of  a  Scotch  terrier,  and  the  reader 
will  perceive  the  coat  is  by  the  artist  truthfully  depicted 
as  remarkably  long,  full,  and  hairy. 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 


197 


The  imagination  can,  from  this  likeness  of  the  animal 
in  health,  conjure  up  the  resemblance  such  an  object  as 
the  poor  dog  must  have  presented  without  its  coat.  Nor 
was  the  loss  of  the  hair  the  worst  part  of  the  business  ; 
it  never  afterwards  grew  to  its  proper  length.  The  other 
symptoms  which  have  been  described  were  present. 
Fever  also  existed,  though  the  debility  in  a  great  mea- 
sure concealed  it  ;  nor  was  the  issue  of  the  case  by  any 
means  certain  for  a  week  or  even  longer. 

The  health  may  be  restored,  but  the  teeth  will  never 
regain  their  whiteness,  nor  the  breath  recover  its  natural 
odor.  A  mild  acidulated  drink,  made  of  sulphuric  acid 
and  sweetened  water,  will  be  the  most  proper  remedy. 
It  should  be  made  pleasant,  and  tasted  before  given  to 
the  dog,  which  will  prevent  its  being  administered  of  too 
great  a  potency.  Of  this  as  much  as  can  be  conveniently 
got  down  may  be  given,  from  a  quarter  of  a  pint  to  a 
quart  daily ;  and  with  it  the  sulphate  of  iron,  the  disul- 
phate  of  quinine,  and  vegetable  bitters,  made  into  pills, 


198  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

• 
may  be  joined.     If  the  bowels  are  costive,  injections  of 

the  sulphate  of  magnesia,  or  small  doses  of  the  salt,  may 
be  employed,  while  the  food  should  be  nourishing.  Sul- 
phuric acid  and  the  sulphates,  with  generous  diet,  will 
constitute  the  treatment ;  and  if  the  case  be  not  too  far 
advanced,  these  will  ultimately  restore  the  strength. 


BRONCHOCELE. 

THIS  disease  is  usually  seen  in  greatest  severity  in 
pups.  It  consists  in  an  enlargement  of  the  thyroid  body, 
which  increases  so  much  as  to  destroy  the  life.  In  old 
dogs  it  is  commonly  stationary,  or  of  a  fixed  size.  Spa- 
niels and  terriers  are  much  exposed  to  it ;  and  of  the 
last-mentioned  breed,  probably  bull-terriers  are,  of  all 
animals,  the  most  liable  to  be  attacked. 

In  pups,  the  thyroid  body  greatly  and  quickly  en- 
larges, so  as  to  cut  short  the  life  by  when  the  sixth  week 
is  attained.  The  disease  of  itself,  in  old  dogs,  is  rather 
annoying  than  fatal ;  but  the  manner  in  which  it  destroys 
the  animal  when  very  young,  is  by  impeding  the  circu- 
lation and  respiration.  The  enlarged  thyroid  body  presses 
upon  the  trachea  and  jugular  veins.  The  blood  which 
should  return  from  the  brain  and  head  is  thereby  pre- 
vented descending,  and  hindered  from  reaching  the  heart 
in  a  full  current.  The  vessels  enlarge  so  as  to  become 
obvious  to  the  most  indifferent  observer.  The  veins  not 
only  look  swelled,  but  they  feel  turgid,  and  cannot  be 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  199 

compressed  ;  the  little  beast  is  dull  ;  the  breathing  is 
very  laborious ;  the  animal  sleeps  much,  and  at  last  dies 
without  a  struggle,  casting  off  life  as  it  were  but  a  trou- 
bled dream.  It  never  has  perfectly  enjoyed  existence, 
and  its  departure  is  not  to  be  regretted. 

With  the  older  animals,  so  far  as  my  experience  at 
present  teaches  me,  the  thyroid  body,  when  enlarged,  has 
not  suddenly  increased  ;  yet  this  fact  by  no  means  proves 
that  the  diseased  part  is  always  quiescent,  and  cannot 
increase  in  size.  Because  of  this  possibility,  and  the 
safety  of  the  process,  the  disease  should  be  eradicated. 
This  is  to  be  done  by  administering  iodine  by  the 
mouth,  and  painting  over  the  enlargement  (having  the 
hair  first  closely  shaved  off  the  part)  with  some  of  the 
tincture  of  the  same  drug,  applied  by  means  of  a  camel's 
hair  brush.  As  iodine  soon  separates  and  is  thrown 
down  to  the  bottom,  all  the  preparations  of  it  should  be 
used  as  freshly  made  as  may  be  convenient.  The  mix- 
ture of  which  iodine  is  the  active  ingredient,  and  which 
is  a  week  old,  may  be  confidently  said  to  have  lost  the 
major  part  of  its  virtue.  Every  three  or  four  days  this 
medicine  should  be  concocted ;  for  even  when  put  into 
pills,  iodine,  being  very  volatile,  will  evaporate.  The 
quantity  to  be  given  to  the  dog  varies,  from  a  quarter  of 
a  grain  four  times  a  day  to  the  smallest  pup,  to  two 
grains  four  times  daily  to  the  largest  dog.  The  tincture 
used  for  painting  the  throat  is  made  with  spirits  of  wine, 
an  ounce  ;  iodide  of  potassium,  a  drachm. 


200  DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 


RESPIRATORY    ORGANS. 

THE  LARYNX  of  the  dog  is  affected  in  various  ways 
It  is  called  a  "  little  box,"  and  the  projecting  part  of  this 
organ  is,  in  the  throat  of  man,  spoken  of  as  *'  Adam's 
apple."  It  opens  at  the  back  part  of  the  mouth,  and  is 
placed  at  the  beginning  of  the  windpipe.  All  the  air 
that  inflates  the  lungs  must  pass  through  it,  but  it  will 
permit  nothing  else  to  enter  with  impunity.  A  drop  of 
saliva,  or  the  smallest  particle  of  salt,  will  be  sufficient  to 
call  forth  the  most  painful  irritability.  In  fact  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  larynx  is  the  most  tender  or  sensitive 
structure  in  the  body  ;  and,  as  parts  are  exposed  to  suf- 
fering just  in  proportion  as  they  are  endowed  with  sensa- 
tion, of  course,  the  organ  so  finely  gifted  is  often  the  seat 
of  disease. 

The  dog's  larynx  has  many  peculiarities.  It  is  very 
complicated,  and  exquisitely  constructed.  Few  persons 
have,  perhaps,  much  attended  to  the  notes  of  the  animal's 
voice ;  but  those  who  will  observe  the  sounds  may  find 
these  take  a  range  far  more  wide  than  is  generally  imagin- 
ed. The  dog's  voice  is  remarkably  expressive,  and  to 
my  ear  speaks  very  intelligible  music.  The  deep  growl 
is  not  without  variety  ;  for  by  the  feeling  of  the  animal 
that  emits  it  the  note  is  always  modulated.  The  rumble 
of  expostulation  the  favorite  gives  utterance  to  when  the 
master  pretends  to  take  away  its  bone  does  not  resemble 
the  rattle  of  joy  with  which  the  child's  playmate  accom- 


DOGS'.    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  201 

panies  a  game  of  romps.  Both,  however,  are  distinct 
from  the  suppressed  warning  with  which  the  watchdog 
announces  the  advancing  stranger,  or  the  sharp  defiance 
by  which  he  signifies  his  determination  to  attack.  The 
bark  also  is  not  by  any  means  monotonous,  but  is  capable 
of  infinite  variety.  The  cries  of  the  animal  are  remarka- 
bly modulated ;  but  the  soft  and  gentle  sounds  it  can 
emit  when  inclined  to  coax  its  master,  or  answering  to  the 
excess  of  pleasure  which  his  caresses  create,  are  full  of 
natural  music.  The  dog's  voice  is  not  to  my  ear  less 
beautiful  than  the  song  of  a  bird  ;  but  more  delightful, 
because  it  is  more  full  of  meaning.  The  nightingale  has 
but  one  song,  which  it  constantly  repeats.  The  cur  has 
many  tuneful  notes,  with  which  it  responds  to  my  atten- 
tions. Music  has  been  recognised  in  the  tongues  of  the 
pack,  but  I  have  heard  harmony  more  delightful  from 
the  hound  in  my  home.  I  like  to  hear  the  dog's  voice, 
especially  when  not  too  loud,  and  having  studied  it,  I 
have  often  wondered  the  animal  did  not  speak.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  it  would  be  able  to  frame  words  if  it 
possessed  the  power  to  comprehend  their  meaning ;  but 
the  high  intelligence  of  the  creature  unfits  it  for  parrot- 
like  mimicry.  The  dog  is,  in  all  it  does,  guided  by  its 
reason,  and  it  performs  no  act  without  a  reasonable  mo- 
tive. If  any  physical  incapacity  exist,  it  is  to  be  found 
rather  in  the  formation  of  the  mouth  than  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  larynx,  which  presents  no  explanation  of  the 
dog's  inability  to  frame  definite  sounds  like  words. 

The  part  is  rarely  the  seat  of  acute  disease.     In  rabies, 
9* 


202  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

especially  of  the  dumb  kind,  it  is  acutely  affected ;  but 
of  that  form  of  disorder  the  writer  will  have  to  speak  in 
another  place.  Of  acute  laryngitis,  as  met  with  common- 
ly in  the  horse,  I  have  not  seen  an  example  in  the  dog, 
and  therefore  I  shall  not  here  say  anything  about  it.  Of 
chronic  disease  of  the  larynx  there  is  no  lack  of  instan- 
ces. These  are  brought  to  us  frequently,  and  generally 
are  submitted  to  our  notice  as  cases  of  continued  or  con- 
firmed cough.  Cough,  however,  is  but  a  symptom,  and 
may  be  no  more  than  a  sympathetic  effect  induced  by 
the  derangement  of  a  distant  structure.  When  it  is 
caused  by  the  condition  of  the  larynx,  it  has  a  deep 
sound,  which  is  never  entirely  changed  in  character, 
however  much  pain  induces  the  animal  to  suppress  it. 
It  is  essentially  the  same  in  every  stage,  though  it  may 
be  more  or  less  full  or  loud,  according  to  the  state  of  the 
air  passage. 

This  cough  may  start  up  from  sympathy ;  but  then  it 
is  always  less  sonorous,  harsh,  and  grating.  It  is  also 
less  spasmodic,  and  likewise  less  the  consequence  of  par- 
ticular causes.  When  the  larynx  is  the  seat  of  the  affec- 
tion, the  cough,  should  it  once  begin,  continues  for  a  con- 
siderable time  ;  and  cold  air  or  excitement  will  invariably 
induce  it.  In  bad  cases  every  act  of  inspiration  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  kind  of  noise  intermediate  between  a  grunt 
and  a  cough.  Sometimes  the  breathing  is  accompanied 
by  a  species  of  roaring  ;  and  I  have  seen  one  case  in  which 
a  blood-hound  had  every  symptom  of  laryngismus  stri- 
dulus,  or  the  crowing  disease  of  the  human  infant. 


DOGS'.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  203 

Laryngeal  disorders  are  seldom  brought  under  our 
notice  until  they  are  confirmed,  and  they  are  difficult  to 
cure  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  they  have  existed. 
The  food  in  every  case  must  be  rigidly  regulated,  and  no 
solid  flesh  should  be  allowed ;  but  if  the  animal  be  very 
old  or  weak,  beef  tea  or  gravy  may  be  added  to  the  rice 
or  biscuit  which  constitutes  the  chief  portion  of  the  diet. 
The  condition  of  the  stomach  must  so  far  as  possible  be 
ascertained,  and  the  medicines  necessary  to  correct  its 
disease  should  be  administered.  The  exercise  must  not 
be  stinted,  neither  should  confinement  within  doors  be 
insisted  upon.  All  must  be  done  to  assist  the  digestion 
and  invigorate  the  health  ;  such  precautions  being  adopted 
as  prevent  the  aggravation  of  the  disease.  Sudden 
changes  of  atmosphere,  as  from  a  warm  room  to  a  frosty 
air  during  the  depth  of  winter,  should  obviously  be 
avoided;  neither  would  it  be  prudent  to  race  the  animal 
about,  or  induce  it  to  perform  any  action  calculated  to 
accelerate  the  breathing. 

At  the-  commencement  a  gentle  emetic  given  every 
other  morning  until  six  or  seven  have  been  administered, 
with  a  laxative  occasionally  if  the  bowels  are  torpid,  is 
often  productive  of  speedy  benefit.  A  mustard  poultice 
to  the  throat  is  also  to  be  recommended,  but  he  who 
applies  it  must  be  attentive  to  remove  it  when  it  appears 
to  seriously  pain  the  animal.  It  may  be  repeated  on  each 
successive  night,  or  even  oftener,  but  should  never  be 
reapplied  before  the  skin  on  which  it  was  previously 
placed  has  ceased  to  be  tender.  Leeches  to  the  throat 


204  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

are  often  of  service,  as  also  are  small  blisters  to  the  chest. 
I  found  great  improvement  result  from  wearing  a  very 
wide  bandage,  which  was  kept  wet,  and  covered  with  oil 
silk,  round  the  neck.  This  is  easily  made,  and  strips  of 
gutta  percha,  or  stout  leather,  will  prevent  it  being 
doubled  up  by  the  motions  of  the  head  ;  and  it  is  scarcely 
a  disfigurement,  since  it  only  looks  like  a  large  collar. 
A  seton  in  the  throat  may  be  tried,  but  though  often  bene- 
ficial, it  ought  only  to  be  inserted  by  a  person  acquainted 
with  the  anatomy  of  the  dog ;  for  the  jugular  veins  in  this 
animal  are  connected  by  several  large  branches,  which 
run  just  where  the  seton  would  be  introduced.  These 
could  not  be  pierced  with  impunity,  nor  ought  the  seton 
to  be  left  in  so  long  as  might  induce  sloughing,  when  the 
vessels  probably  would  be  opened  ;  for  as  the  dog  badly 
sustains  the  loss  of  blood,  the  result  would  surely  be  fatal. 
Internal  medicines  are  not  to  be  neglected.  All  seda- 
tives, balsams,  expectorants,  and  peppers,  with  some 
alkalies  and  stimulants,  may  be  tried,  and  even  alterative 
doses  of  mercury  with  caution  resorted  to.  Dogs  are 
more  peculiar  with  respect  to  the  medicines  that  act  upon 
individuals  than  any  other  animals  I  am  acquainted  with. 
That  which  touches  one  will  be  inoperative  upon  another ; 
and  what  violently  affects  one,  will  on  a  second,  apparently 
of  the  same  bulk,  strength,  age,  and  character,  be  actually 
powerless.  This  renders  dog-practice  so  difficult,  and 
makes  the  explanation  of  any  decided  mode  of  treatment 
almost  impossible.  A  great  deal  must  necessarily  be  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  practitioner,  who,  despite  his 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  205 

utmost  care,  will  often  have  reason  for  regret,  if  he  do  not 
in  every  new  instance  proceed  with  caution.  The  follow- 
ing pills  are  likely  to  do  good  : — 

Barbadoes  tar  ....  Half  a  drachm  to  two  drachms. 

Powdered  squills  ...  A  drachm  to  four  drachms. 

Extract  of  belladonna     .  Half  a  scruple  to  four  scruples. 

Liquorice  powder  ...  A  sufficiency. 

Beat  into  a  mass,  and  make  into  twenty  pills ;  give  four 
daily.  Or, 

James's  powder  .     .      .    .     One  grain  to  four  grains. 
Dover's  powder ....    Six  grains  to  a  scruple. 
Balsam  of  Peru  ....     A  sufficiency. 

Make  into  one  pill  and  give  as  before.     Or, 

Extract  of  hyoscyamus  .     One  to  four  grains. 
Powdered  ammoniacum, 


Four  to  twelve  grains, 
and  cubebs,  of  each    .  ) 

Venice  turpentine    .     .      A  sufficiency. 

Powdered  capsicums  and  cantharides  have  also  seemed 
to  touch  the  disease ;  but  no  one  medicine  has  to  me 
appeared  to  have  any  specific  influence  over  it.  In  these 
cases  mere  formula  could  be  extended  almost  indefinitely  ; 
but  the  reason  must  be  exerted,  and  the  prescription  must 
be  dictated  by  the  symptoms.  Thus,  when  there  is  much 
nervous  excitability  accompanied  with  gastric  derange- 
ment, Prussic  acid  of  Scheele's  strength,  in  doses  of  half  a 
drop  to  two  drops,  may  be  exhibited ;  and  if  the  mouth 
be  dry,  and  the  disposition  irritable,  from  five  to  twenty 


200  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

drops  of  the  tincture  of  Indian  tobacco  may  be  adminis- 
tered. If  the  throat  is  very  sore,  the  mouth  may  be  held 
open,  and  ten  grains  of  powdered  alum  mixed  with  four 
times  its  weight  of  fine  sugar  may  be  blown  into  it,  or  in 
severe  instances,  the  fauces  may  be  mopped  out  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  soft  sponge  tied  to  the  end  of  a 
probe,  and  saturated  with  a  solution  containing  six 
grains  of  nitrate  of  silver  dissolved  in  an  ounce  of  water. 

Ulceration  of  the  interior  of  the  larynx  is  to  be  dreaded 
if  the  symptoms  do  not  yield.  This  will  be  denoted  by 
the  cough  becoming  weaker,  less  loud,  more  short,  and 
also  more  frequent.  Prior  to  it  there  are  always  inter- 
vals during  which  the  animal  enjoys  repose ;  but  after 
ulceration  of  the  larynx  is  established  every  inhalation 
provokes  the  irritability  of  the  organ.  With  it  the  con- 
stitutional symptoms  become  more  serious,  and  little  can 
then  by  medicine  be  accomplished  j  for  the  passage  of 
the  air  which  is  necessary  to  life  causes  the  affection  we 
desire  to  cure  to  spread.  Tracheotomy  might  be  per. 
formed,  though  the  dog  is  so  very  expert  with  its  claws, 
and  any  tape  around  the  neck  would  be  probably  so 
injurious,  that  hitherto  I  have  not  ventured  to  hazard  the 
experiment.  Humanity  has,  in  such  cases,  forced  me  to 
recommend  the  destruction  of  the  life  which  I  enter- 
tained no  hope  of  comforting. 

Cough  is  much  more  frequently  a  symptom  than  a 
disease.  It,  in  fat  dogs,  usually  proceeds  from  disordered 
digestion;  and  then  to  remove  it  the  cause  must  be 
attacked.  It  accompanies  worms  j  and  if  these  are 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  207 

exDelled,  it  will  subside.  It  may,  however,  exist  by 
itself,  for  the  larynx  of  the  dog  early  becomes  ossified  or 
converted  into  bone  ;  and  being  then  less  yielding,  the  vio- 
lent vibrations  it  is  subjected  to  during  the  act  of  barking 
have  a  natural  tendency  to  injure  the  delicate  lining 
membrane.  Its  irritability  is  excited,  and  cough  is  the 
consequence.  The  disposition  of  the  creature  to  give 
tongue  ought,  therefore,  to  be  as  much  as  possible 
checked,  and  a  mustard  poultice  applied  to  the  throat, 
while  the  pills  first  recommended  on  page  205,  are 
given ;  but  if  these  fail,  the  others  may  be  employed. 
The  general  measures  would  be  pretty  much  the  same, 
only  the  more  severe  need  not  be  resorted  to.  Quiet, 
mild  food,  and  a  littfe  care,  will  often,  without  medicine, 
remove  the  annoyance  ;  but  it  is  never  well  to  trust  too 
long  to  such  dubious  aids,  when  timely  assistance  will 
procure  speedy  relief,  and  delay  may  lead  to  further  evil. 

SNORING  is  often  a  heavy  accusation  brought  against 
the  dog.  It  may  proceed  from  weakness;  though,  in 
ninety -nine  cases  out  of  every  hundred,  it  results  from 
that  debility  which  accompanies  accumulated  fat  and 
sloth.  In  the  one  case  we  apply  the  means  advised  to 
restore  the  strength, — in  the  other,  we  stint  the  food, 
enforce  a  vegetable  diet,  and  see  that  sufficient  exercise 
be  taken. 

SNORTING  is  another  unpleasantness  which  the  canine 
race  display.  The  animals  stand  with  their  heads  erect, 
and,  drawing  the  air  through  the  nostrils,  produce  a  series 
of  harsh  loud  sounds,  which  are  sometimes  continued  till 


208  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

the  dog  falls  from  actual  exhaustion.  This  is  the  result 
of  irritability,  in  a  low  form,  of  the  lining  membrane  of 
the  nasal  chambers.  The  sensation  is  probably  that  of 
itching,  and  the  dog  endeavors,  by  drawing  the  air 
quickly  through  the  nostrils  and  energetically  expelling 
it,  to  relieve  the  annoyance. 

The  treatment  is  not  to  be  laid  down  ;  attention  to  the 
food,  and  medicines  of  an  alterative  nature  calculated  to 
affect  or  improve  the  secretions,  are  most  likely  to  be  of 
service.  Worms  may  possibly  be  the  provocative,  and  in 
that  case  of  course  they  should  be  removed.  The  mea- 
sures, therefore,  are  not  to  be  arbitrarily  pointed  out.  The 
judgment  must  be  employed  to  discover  in  what  particu- 
lar the  system  is  unsound,  and  the  agents  used  must  be 
selected  with  a  view  to  the  general  health.  Local  appli- 
cations have  been  tried  without  advantage,  but  there  do 
not  appear  to  be  any  specifics  for  the  complaint.  The 
snorting  is  to  be  regarded  merely  as  an  effect  of  some 
deep-seated  derangement,  and  the  remedies  are  to  be  such 
as  the  appearance  of  the  animal  suggests.  I  have  gene- 
rally been  successful  in  these  cases,  but  I  remember  no 
two  of  them  which  I  have  treated  exactly  in  the  same 
manner.  Patience  and  perseverance  are  mostly  required, 
but  sometimes  the  affection  will  not  yield  to  any  remedy. 
When  it  appears  to  be  obstinate,  the  use  of  medicine 
should  not  be  pushed  too  far.  The  constitution  of  the  dog 
is  so  easily  injured,  and  with  so  much  difficulty  restored, 
that  where  a  mere  unpleasantness  is  apparently  all  that 
exists,  it  is  better  to  permit  that  to  continue  than  hazard 


DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  209 

the  health  of  the  animal  by  over-strenuous  attempts  to 
get  rid  of  it. 

COLD  or  CORIZA  is  not  frequent  in  the  dog,  but  it  will 
occasionally  be  seen.  It  comes  on  gradually,  and  often 
passes  off  without  any  assistance  being  given.  In  pups 
it  is  apt  to  pass  first  into  bronchitis,  and  then  change  into 
distemper,  which  in  such  instances,  spite  of  our  best  en- 
deavors, will  often  terminate  in  fits. 

It  springs  from  various  causes,  but  neglect  and  impro- 
per lodging  are  generally  those  to  which  it  may  be  traced. 
In  adult  animals  it  is  not  to  be  greatly  feared,  but  in  the 
young  it  requires  immediate  attention.  The  kennel  must 
be  looked  to ;  the  food  and  exercise  be  strictly  watched. 
Tonics,  into  which  cayenne  pepper,  cubebs,  or  balsam  of 
pepper  enter,  are  to  be  tried,  and  cod-liver  oil  also  is 
worth  an  experiment.  The  iodide  of  potassium  is  also 
not  to  be  rejected ;  but  the  condition  of  the  patient  must 
decide  which  is  the  most  likely  to  be  of  service  in  the 
case.  When  undertaken  early,  the  symptoms  yield  in 
the  majority  of  instances.  The  discharge,  which  at  the 
commencement  is  thin,  becomes  more  copious,  grows 
thicker,  and  at  last  ceases.  The  sneezing  stops  and  the 
spirits  return ;  but  should  the  disorder  not  be  checked, 
the  larynx  becomes  involved,  and  cough  appears.  If  no 
relief  be  now  sought,  and  the  disease  spreads,  the  breath- 
ing grows  quick  at  first,  and  then  laborious. 

The  pup  may  even  at  this  stage  be  eager  to  feed,  and 
when  its  attention  is  excited,  be  as  playful  as  in  health  ; 
but  if  watched  it  will  be  seen,  when  alone,  to  be  oppressed 


210  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

and  languid.  In  such  cases,  belladonna,  combined  with 
James's  powder,  an  equal  amount  of  each,  should  be  ad- 
ministered. The  dose  should  be  exhibited  every  hour, 
for  here  the  wish  is  to  obtain  the  speedy  effect  of  the 
drug  without  allowing  its  sedative  property  to  seriously 
affect  the  strength.  To  a  young  pup,  a  quarter  of  a 
grain  will  be  the  proper  quantity  j  and  for  a  full-grown 
large-sized  dog,  two  grains  of  the  extract  may  be  em- 
ployed. The  action,  however,  must  be  observed,  and 
when  a  marked  disinclination  for  food  or  drink,  with  a 
seeming  wish  for  both,  and  signs  of  inconvenience  in  the 
throat  are  seen,  the  belladonna  must  be  withheld.  On 
the  third  day,  if  the  cure  be  not  complete,  it  may  be  a 
second  time  employed ;  and,  after  a  like  period,  even  a 
further  trial  may  be  made.  At  the  same  time,  a  little 
soap  liniment  may  be  rubbed  into  the  throat,  along  the 
course  of  the  windpipe,  and  over  the  chest.  The  bowels 
also  should  be  regulated  ;  but  purgation  is  not  to  be 
desired.  Should  the  liver  be  sluggish,  mild  alterative 
doses  of  the  grey  powder  may  be  sprinkled  upon  the  food, 
and  will  thus  be  taken  without  the  necessity  of  forcing 
the  animal.  When  the  measures  recommended  do  not 
succeed,  the  appearance  of  the  patient  must  direct  those 
which  are  next  to  be  adopted.  Where  weakness  prevails, 
and  shivering  denotes  the  presence  of  fever,  quinine  and 
the  sulphate  of  iron  are  required.  Small  blisters,  or 
mustard  poultices,  to  the  chest,  may  with  due  caution  be 
applied.  An  emetic  may  even  be  administered  ;  but,  if 
repeated  at  all,  it  must  be  only  after  two  or  three  days 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  211 

have  elapsed.  Where  the  system  is  vigorous,  expector- 
ants and  sedatives,  with  leeches  to  the  chest,  may  be  used. 
Turpentine  liniment  to  the  sides,  throat,  and  under  the 
jaws,  may  also  be  freely  rubbed  in,  and  the  diet  in 
quantity  restricted.  Tartar  emetic  in  very  minute  doses 
may  be  exhibited  three  times  daily. 


INFLAMMATION   OF   THE   LUNGS. 

The  chest  of  the  dog  is  not  in  any  remarkable  degree 
the  seat  of  disease.  The  ribs  of  the  animal  being  con- 
structed for  easy  motion,  and  the  muscles  which  move 
them  being  strong  and  large  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  bones,  the  lungs,  therefore,  are  in  general  properly 
expanded ;  and  this  circumstance  tends  to  preserve  them 
in  a  healthy  condition.  They  do  not,  however,  always 
escape,  but  are  subject  to  the  same  inflammations  as  those 
of  the  horse,  though,  from  the  causes  stated,  more  rarely 
attacked. 

INFLAMMATION  OF  THE  LUNGS  is  denoted  by  a  quick- 
ened pulse  and  breathing,  preceded  by  shivering  fits. 
The  appetite  does  not  always  fail ;  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances I  have  seen  it  increased ;  but  it  is  most  often 


212  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

diminished.  The  animal  is  averse  to  motion ;  but  when 
the  affection  is  established,  the  dog  sits  upon  its  hocks, 
and  wherever  it  is  placed,  speedily  assumes  that  position. 
As  the  disorder  becomes  worse,  the  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing is  more  marked.  The  creature  also  shows  a  dispo- 
sition to  quit  the  house,  and  if  there  be  an  open  window 
it  will  thrust  its  head  through  the  aperture.  The  sense 
of  suffocation  is  obviously  present,  and  at  length  this 
becomes  more  and  more  obvious.  The  dog  in  the  very 
last  stage  refuses  to  sit,  but  obstinately  stands.  One  of 
the  legs  swells,  and,  on  being  felt,  it  is  ascertained  to  be 
enlarged  by  fluid.  There  is  dropsy  of  the  chest,  and  the 
limb  has  sympathized  in  the  disposition  to  effusion.  The 
pulse  denotes  the  weakness  of  the  body ;  but  the  ex- 
citement of  disease  in  a  great  measure  disguises  the  other 
symptoms.  The  dog  may  even,  to  an  unpractised  eye, 
seem  to  possess  considerable  strength  ;  for  it  resists,  with 
all  its  remaining  power,  any  attempt  to  move  it,  and  its 
last  energies  are  exerted  to  support  the  attitude  that 
affords  the  most  relief  to  the  respiration.  At  length  the 
poor  brute  stubbornly  stands  until  forced  to  stir,  when  it 
drops  suddenly,  and  for  several  moments  lies  as  if  the 
life  had  departed.  Again  it  falls,  but  again  revives  ;  and 
always  with  the  return  of  consciousness  gets  upon  its 
legs ;  but  at  last  it  sinks,  and  without  a  struggle  dies. 

The  lungs  have  been,  in  the  first  instance,  inflamed, 
but  the  pleura  or  membrane  covering  the  lungs,  and 
also  lining  the  chest,  has  likewise  become  by  the  pro- 
gress of  the  disease  involved.  The  cavity  has  become 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  213 

full  of  water,  or  rather  serum,  and  by  the  pressure 
of  the  fluid  the  organs  of  respiration  are  compressed. 
It  is  seldom  that  both  sides  are  gorged  to  an  equal  de- 
gree ;  but  one  cavity  may  be  quite  full  while  the  other 
is  only  partially  so.  One  lung,  therefore,  in  part  remains 
to  perform  the  function  on  which  the  continuance  of  life 
depends ;  and  if,  by  any  movement,  the  weight  of  fluid 
is  brought  to  bear  upon  the  little  left  to  continue  respi- 
ration, the  animal  is  literally  asphyxiated.  It  drops,  in 
fact,  strangled,  or  more  correctly,  suffocated  ;  and  as  the 
vital  energy  is  strong  or  weak,  so  may  the  dog  more  or 
less  frequently  recover  for  a  time.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  tax  upon  the  strength  exhausts  the  power,  and  the 
accumulation  of  the  fluid  diminishes  the  source  by  which 
the  life  was  sustained.  After  death,  I  have  taken  from 
the  body  of  a  full-sized  Newfoundland  one  lung,  which 
lay  with  ease  upon  my  extended  hand  ;  while  the  two 
held  together  afforded  a  surface  sufficient  to  support  the 
other.  The  condensation  was  so  great  that  the  part  was 
literally  consolidated,  and  the  fluid  which  exuded  on  cut- 
ting into  the  substance  was  small  in  quantity.  The 
blood-vessels  were,  with  the  air-cells,  compressed,  and 
while  the  arterialization  of  the  blood  was  imperfect,  the 
circulation  was  also  impeded. 

The  causes  usually  assigned  to  account  for  inflammation 
of  the  lungs  will  not,  in  the  dog,  explain  its  origin.  I  have 
usually  met  it  where  the  animal  had  not  been  exposed  to 
wet  or  cold ;  where  it  had  not  undergone  excessive  exer- 
tion, or  been  subjected  to  violence.  Extraordinary  care 


214  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

has  rather  seemed  to  induce,  than  the  neglect  of  the  crea- 
ture appeared  to  provoke  the  attack.  It  is,  however, 
easy  to  trace  causes  when  we  have  a  wish  to  explain  a 
particular  effect ;  but  where  the  lungs  have  been  inflamed 
I  have  never,  to  my  entire  satisfaction,  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain that  the  animal  had  been  exposed  to  hardship,  or 
subjected  to  labor  which  it  had  not  previously  sustained, 
and  which,  if  the  health  had  been  good,  it  might  not  have 
endured. 

Disease  of  the  lungs  is,  in  the  early  stage,  very  readily 
subdued  ;  but,  if  allowed  to  establish  itself,  it  is  rarely 
that  medicine  can  eradicate  it.  The  majority  of  persons 
who  profess  to  know  anything  about  the  diseases  of  dogs, 
look  upon  the  nose  as  an  indication  of  the  health.  While 
the  appetite  is  good,  or  the  nose  is  cold  and  moist,  such 
people  are  confident  no  fear  need  be  entertained.  Of  the 
uncertainty  that  attends  the  disposition  to  feed  mention 
has  been  already  made ;  but  with  regard  to  the  condition 
of  a  part,  the  persons  who  assume  to  teach  us  are  likely 
to  be  in  such  cases  entirely  deceived.  I  have  known  dogs 
with  violent  inflammation  of  the  lungs  ;  I  have  seen  them 
die  from  dropsy  of  the  chest ;  and  their  noses  have  been 
wet  and  cold,  even  as  though  the  animals  had  iced  the 
organs.  From  this  mistaken  notion,  therefore,  no  doubt, 
are  to  be  traced  the  numerous  instances  of  dogs  brought  for 
treatment  when  no  remedies  can  be  of  avail.  They  are 
submitted  to  our  notice  only  that  we  may  be  pained  to 
look  upon  their  deaths ;  and  often  have  my  endeavors 
been  thus  limited  to  simple  palliative  measures,  when  an 


DOGS*.     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  215 

earlier  application  would  have  enabled  me  to  employ 
medicine  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  success. 

In  the  commencement,  when  the  breathing  is  simply 
increased  and  the  pulse  slightly  accelerated,  then  if  you 
place  the  ear  to  the  side,  there  is  merely  a  small  increase 
of  sound  ;  and  the  animal  exhibits  no  obstinate,  or  more 
properly,  unconquerable  disposition  to  sit  upon  the  hocks ; 
small  quantities  of  belladonna,  combined  with  James's 
powder,  will  generally  put  an  end  to  the  disease.  The 
belladonna,  in  doses  of  from  one  to  four  grains,  may  be 
given  three  times  a  day  ;  but  where  trouble  is  not  objected 
to,  and  regularity  can  be  depended  upon,  I  prefer  adminis- 
tering it  in  doses  of  a  quarter  of  a  grain  to  a  grain  every 
hour.  By  the  last  practice  I  think  I  have  obtained  results 
more  satisfactory ;  but  it  is  not  always  that  a  plan  neces- 
sitating almost  constant  attention  can  be  enforced,  or  that 
the  animal  to  be  treated  will  allow  of  such  repeated  inter- 
ference. The  following  formula  will  serve  the  purpose, 
and  the  reader  can  divide  it  if  the  method  I  recommend 
can  be  pursued. 

Extract  of  belladonna  .  One  to  four  grains. 

James's  powder     .     .  .  Two  to  eight  grains. 

Nitrate  of  potash  .     .  .  Four  to  sixteen  grains. 

Extract  of  gentian    .  .  A  sufficiency  for  one  pill. 

If,  on  the  second  day,  no  marked  improvement  is  percepti- 
ble, small  doses  of  antimonial  wine  may  be  tried ;  from 
fifteen  minims  to  half-a-drachm  may  be  given  every  fourth 
hour,  unless  vomiting  be  speedily  induced ;  when  the  next 
dose  must,  at  the  stated  period,  be  reduced  five  or  ten 


216  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

minims,  and  even  further  diminished  if  the  lessened  quan- 
tity should  have  an  emetic  effect.  The  object  in  giving 
the  antimonial  wine  is  to  create  nausea,  and  not  to  excite 
sickness  ;  and  we  endeavor  to  keep  up  the  action  in  order 
to  affect  the  system.  This  is  frequently  very  decisive  in 
the  reduction  of  the  symptoms  ;  but,  even  after  the  danger 
has  been  dispelled,  the  pills  before  recommended  must  be 
persevered  with,  and  every  means  adopted  to  prevent  a 
relapse. 

Sometimes,  however,  the  disorder  commences  with  a 
violence  that,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  attack,  calls 
for  the  most  energetic  measures.  If  the  breathing  be  very 
quick,  short,  and  catching;  the  position  constant;  the 
pulse  full  and  strong ;  the  jugular  vein  may  be  opened, 
and  from  one  ounce  to  eight  ounces  of  blood  extracted  ; 
or  leeches  may  be  applied  to  the  sides ;  or  an  ammonia- 
cal  blister  may  be  employed.  This  is  done  by  saturating 
a  piece  of  rag,  folded  three  or  four  times,  with  a  solution 
composed  of  liquor  ammoniaca  fort.,  one  part  ;  distilled 
water,  three  parts ;  and,  having  placed  it  upon  the  place 
from  which  the  hair  has  been  previously  cut  off,  holding 
over  it  a  dry  cloth  to  prevent  evaporization  of  the  volatile 
vesicant.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  will  serve  to  raise  the 
cuticle  ;  but  frequently  that  object  is  accomplished  in  less 
time ;  therefore,  during  its  operation,  the  agent  must  be 
watched,  or  else  the  effect  may  be  greater  than  we  desire, 
and  sloughing  may  ensue. 

A  dose  of  castor  oil  may  also  be  administered,  and  the 
food  should  be  composed  entirely  of  vegetables,  if  the 


DOGS*.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  217 

animal  can  be  induced  to  eat  this  kind  of  diet.  Exertion 
should  be  prevented,  and  quiet  as  much  as  possible 
enjoined.  The  tincture  of  aconite,  it  is  said,  'sometimes 
does  wonders  in  inflammation  of  the  lungs  ;  but  in  my 
hands  its  operation  has  been  uncertain,  though  the 
homoeopathists  trust  greatly  to  its  action  in  this  disease. 
They  give  it  singly,  but  I  have  not  reaped  from  its  use 
on  the  dog  those  advantages  which  tempt  me  to  depend 
solely  on  its  influence.  When  employed,  it  may  be  given 
in  doses  of  from  half  a  drop  to  two  drops  of  the  tincture, 
in  any  pleasant  vehicle,  every  hour. 

After  dropsy  of  the  chest  has  been  established,  the 
chance  of  cure  is  certainly  remote  ;  but  tapping  at  all 
events  renders  the  last  moments  of  life  more  easy.  It  is 
both  simple  and  safe,  and  does  not  seem  to  occasion  any 
pain ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  afford  immediate  relief. 
The  skin  should  be  first  punctured,  and  then  drawn  for- 
ward so  as  to  bring  the  incision  over  the  spot  where  the 
instrument  is  to  be  inserted.  The  place  where  the 
trocar  should  be  introduced  is  between  the  seventh  and 
eighth  ribs,  nearer  to  the  last  than  to  the  first,  and  rather 
close  to  the  breast-bone.  The  point  being  selected,  the 
instrument  is  pushed  gently  into  the  flesh  ;  and  when  the 
operator  feels  no  resistance  is  offered  to  the  progress  of 
the  tube,  he  knows  the  cavity  has  been  pierced.  The 
stilet  is  then  withdrawn,  and  the  fluid  will  pour  forth. 
Unless  the  dog  shows  signs  of  faintness,  as  much  of  the 
water  as  possible  ought  to  be  taken  away ;  but  if  symp- 
toms of  syncope  appear,  the  operation  must  be  stopped, 

10 


218  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

and  after  a  little  time,  when  the  strength  has  been  regain- 
ed, resumed.  When  this  has  been  done,  tonics  must  be 
freely  resorted  to.  The  following  pill  may  be  adminis- 
tered three  or  four  times  a  day  ;  and  the  diet  should  be 
confined  to  flesh,  for  everything  depends  on  the  invigora- 
tion  of  the  body,  and  the  inflammation  is  either  gone,  or 
\t  has  become  of  secondary  importance. 

Iodide  of  iron  ....  One  to  four  grains. 

Sulphate  of  iron  .     .     .  Two  to  eight  grains. 

Extract  of  gentian    .     .  Ten  grains  to  half  a  drachm. 

Powdered  capsicums     .  Two  to  eight  grains. 

Powdered  quassia    .     .  A  sufficiency. 

The  above  will  make  two  pills  ;  and  it  is  better  to  make 
these  the  more  frequently,  as  they  speedily  harden,  and 
we  now  desire  their  quickest  effect,  which  is  sooner  obtain- 
ed if  they  are  soft  or  recently  compounded. 

During  recovery  the  food  must  be  mild,  and  tonics  must 
be  administered.  Exercise  should  be  allowed  with  the 
greatest  caution,  and  all  excitement  ought  to  be  avoided. 
The  dog  must  be  watched  and  nursed,  being  provided 
with  a  sheltered  lodging  and  an  ample  bed  in  a  situation 
perfectly  protected  from  winds  or  draughts,  but  at  the 
same  time  cool  and  airy. 

ASTHMA  is  a  frequent  disease  in  old  and  petted  dogs.  It 
comes  on  by  fits,  and,  through  the  severity  of  the  attack, 
often  seems  to  threaten  suffocation ;  but  I  have  not  known 
a  single  case  in  which  it  has  proved  fatal.  The  cause  is 
generally  attributable  to  inordinate  feeding,  for  -the 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  219 


animals  thus  afflicted  are  always  gross  and  fat.  The 
disorder  comes  on  gradually  in  most  instances,  though  the 
fit  is  usually  sudden.  The  appetite  is  not  affected,  or 
rather  it  is  increased  often  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 
The  craving  is  great,  and  flesh  is  always  preferred,  while 
sweet  and  seasoned  articles  are  much  relished.  On  ex- 
amination, the  signs  denoting  the  digestion  to  be  deranged 
will  be  discovered.  Piles  are  nearly  constantly  met  with ; 
the  coat  is  generally  in  a  bad  condition,  and  the  hair  off 
in  places.  The  nose  may  be  dry  ;  the  membrane  of  the 
eyes  congested ;  the  teeth  covered  with  tartar,  and  the 
breath  offensive.  The  dog  is  slothful,  and  exertion  is 
followed  by  distress.  Cough  may  or  may  not  exist ;  but 
it  usually  appears  towards  the  latter  period  of  the  attack. 
Asthma  is  spasm  of  the  bronchial  tubes,  and  when  it  is 
thoroughly  established  it  is  seldom  to  be  cured.  All 
medicine  can  accomplish  is  the  relief  of  the  more  violent 
symptoms.  The  fits  may  be  rendered  comparatively  less 
frequent  and  less  severe  ;  but  the  agents  that  best  operate 


220  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

to  that  result  are  likely  in  the  end  to  destroy  the  general 
health.  Between  two  evils,  therefore,  the  proprietor  has 
to  make  his  choice  ;  but  if  he  resolves  to  treat  the  disor- 
der, he  must  do  so  knowing  the  drugs  he  makes  use  of  are 
not  entirely  harmless. 

Food  is  of  all  importance.  It  must  be  proportioned  to 
the  size  of  the  patient,  and  be  rather  spare  than  full  in 
quantity.  Flesh  should  be  denied,  and  coarse  vegetable 
diet  alone  allowed.  The  digestion  must  also  be  attended 
to,  and  every  means  taken  to  invigorate  the  system. 
Exercise  must  be  enforced,  even  though  the  animal 
appear  to  suffer  in  consequence  of  being  made  to  walk. 
The  skin  should  be  daily  brushed,  and  the  bed  should 
not  be  too  luxurious.  Sedatives  are  of  service ;  and  as 
no  one  of  these  agents  will  answer  in  every  case,  a  con- 
stant change  will  be  needed,  that,  by  watching  their  action, 
the  one  which  produces  the  best  effect  may  be  discovered. 
Opium,  belladonna,  hyoscyamus,  assafoetida,  and  the  rest, 
may  be  thus  tried  in  succession  ;  and  often  small  doses 
produce  those  effects  which  the  larger  one  seems  to  con- 
ceal. A  pill  containing  any  sedative,  with  an  alterative 
quantity  of  some  expectorant,  may  be  given  three  times 
daily ;  but  when  the  fit  is  on,  I  have  gained  the  most 
immediate  benefit  by  the  administration  of  ether  and 
opium.  From  one  to  four  leeches  to  the  chest,  sometimes, 
are  of  service  ;  but  small  ammoniacal  blisters  applied  to 
the  sides,  and  frequently  repeated,  are  more  to  be 
depended  upon.  Trivial  doses  of  antimonial  wine  or 
ipecacuanha  wine,  with  an  occasional  emetic,  will  some- 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  221 

times  give  temporary  ease ;  but  the  last-named  medicines 
are  to  be  resorted  to  only  after  due  consideration,  as  they 
greatly  lower  the  strength.  Stomachics  and  mild  tonics 
at  the  same  time  are  to  be  employed  ;  but  a  cure  is  not  to 
be  expected.  The  treatment  cannot  be  absolutely  laid 
down ;  but  the  judgment  must  be  exercised,  and  when- 
ever the  slightest  improvement  is  remarked  every  effort 
must  be  made  to  prevent  a  relapse. 


HEPATITIS. 

LIVER  complaints  were  once  fashionable.  A  few  years 
ago  the  mind  of  Great  Britain  was  in  distress  about  its 
bile,  and  blue  pill  with  black  draught  literally  became  a 
part  of  the  national  diet.  At  present  nervous  and  urinary 
diseases  appear  to  be  in  vogue ;  but,  with  dogs,  hepatic 
disorders  are  as  prevalent  as  ever.  The  canine  liver  is 
peculiarly  susceptible  to  disease.  Very  seldom  have  I 


CHRONIC  HEPATITIS. 


dipped  into  the  mysteries  of  their  bodies  but  I  have  found 


222  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

the  biliary  gland  of  these  animals  deranged  ;  sometimes 
inflamed — sometimes  in  an  opposite  condition — often  en- 
larged— seldom  diminished — rarely  of  uniform  color — 
occasionally  tuberculated — and  not  ^infrequently  as  fat 
with  disease  as  those  are  which  have  obtained  for  Stras- 
burg  geese  a  morbid  celebrity. 

It  is,  however,  somewhat  strange  that,  notwithstanding 
the  almost  universality  of  liver  disease  among  petted 
dogs,  the  symptoms  which  denote  its  existence  are  in 
these  creatures  so  obscure  and  undefined  as  rarely  to  be 
recognised.  Very  few  dogs  have  healthy  livers,  and  yet 
seldom  is  the  disordered  condition  of  this  important  gland 
suspected.  Various  are  the  causes  which  different  authors, 
English  and  foreign,  have  asserted  produced  this  effect. 
I  shall  only  allude  to  such  as  I  can  on  my  own  experi- 
ence corroborate,  and  here  I  shall  have  but  little  to  refer 
to.  Over-feeding  and  excessive  indulgence  are  the  sources 
to  which  I  have  always  traced  it.  In  the  half-starved  or 
well-worked  dog  I  have  seen  the  liver  involved  ;  but  have 
never  beheld  it  in  such  a  state  as  led  me  to  conclude  it 
was  the  principal  or  original  seat  of  the  affection  which 
ended  in  death.  On  the  other  hand,  in  fatted  and  petted 
animals,  I  have  seen  the  gland  in  a  condition  that  war- 
ranted no  doubt  as  to  what  part  the  fatal  attack  had 
commenced  in. 

When  death  has  been  the  consequence  of  hepatic 
disorder,  the  symptoms  have  in  every  instance  been 
chronic.  I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  been  called  upon 
V)  treat  a  case  of  an  acute  description,  excepting  as  a 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  223 

phase  of  distemper.  It  would  be  too  much  to  say  such 
a  form  of  disease  does  not  exist  in  a  carnivorous  animal ; 
but  I  have  hitherto  not  met  with  it.  Neither  have  I  seen 
it  as  the  effect  of  inveterate  mange  ;  though  I  have 
beheld  obstinate  skin  disease  the  common,  but  far  from 
invariable,  result  of  chronic  hepatitis.  I  have  also  known 
cerebral  symptoms  to  be  produced  by  the  derangement 
of  this  gland,  which,  in  the  dog,  may  be  the  cause  of 
almost  any  possible  symptom,  and  still  give  so  little 
indication  of  its  actual  condition  as  almost  to  set  our  rea- 
son at  defiance. 

When  the  animal  is  fat,  the  visible  mucous  membranes 
may  be  pallid;  the  tongue  white;  the  pulse  full  and 
quick  ;  the  spirits  slothful :  the  appetite  good  ;  the  foeces 
natural :  the  bowels  irregular  ;  the  breath  offensive  ;  the 
anus  enlarged,  and  the  rump  denuded  of  hair,  the  naked 
skin  being  covered  with  a  scaly  cuticle,  thickened  and 
partially  insensible. 

When  the  animal  is  thin,  almost  all  of  the  foregoing 
signs  may  be  wanting.  The  dog  may  be  only  emaciated 
— a  living  skeleton,  with  an  enlarged  belly.  It  is  dull, 
and  has  a  sleepy  look  when  undisturbed ;  but  when  its 
attention  is  attracted,  the  expression  of  its  countenance 
is  half  vacant  and  half  wild.  The  pupil  of  the  eye  is 
dilated,  and  the  visual  organs  stare  as  though  the  power 
of  recognition  were  enfeebled.  The  appetite  is  good  and 
the  manner  gentle.  The  tongue  is  white,  and  occasion- 
ally reddish  towards  the  circumference.  The  membranes 
of  the  eye  are  very  pale,  but  not  yellow.  The  lining  of 


224  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

the  mouth  is  of  a  faint  dull  tint,  and  often  it  feels  cold  to 
the  touch.  The  coat  looks  not  positively  bad  ;  but  rather 
like  a  skin  which  had  been  well  dressed  by  a  furrier,  than 
one  which  was  still  upon  a  living  body. 

The  history  in  these  cases  invariably  informs  us  that 
the  animal  has  been  fat — very  fat — about  six  or  twelve 
months  ago.  It  fell  away  all  at  once,  though  no  change  was 
made  in  the  diet ;  and  yet  we  learn  it  has  been  physick- 
ed. No  restraint  has  been  put  upon  buckthorn,  castor 
oil,  aloes,  sulphur,  and  antimony,  but  yet  the  belly  will 
not  go  down — it  keeps  getting  bigger  ;  and  now  we  are 
told  the  animal  has  a  dropsy  which  "  wants  to  be  cured." 
It  is  natural  the  figure  and  condition  should  suggest  the 
idea  of  ascites  ;  but  the  hair  does  not  pull  out — none  of 
the  legs  are  swollen — the  shape  of  the  abdomen  wants 
the  appearance  of  gravitation,  and  if  the  patient  be  placed 
upon  its  back  the  form  of  the  rotundity  is  not  altered  by 
the  position  of  the  body.  Moreover,  the  breathing  is 
tolerably  easy  :  and,  though  if  one  hand  be  placed  against 
the  side  of  the  belly,  and  the  part  opposite  be  struck  with 
the  other,  there  will  be  a  marked  sense  of  fluctuation  ; 
still  we  cannot  accept  so  dubious  a  test  against  the  mass 
of  evidence  that  declares  dropsy  is  not  the  name  of  the 
disease.  To  make  sure,  we  feel  the  abdomen  near  to  the 
line  of  the  false  ribs.  This  gives  no  pain,  so  we  press  a 
little  hard,  and  in  two  or  three  places  on  either  side,  on 
the  right,  or  may  be  the  left,  high  up  or  low  down  ;  for 
in  abnormal  growths  there  can  be  no  rule — in  two  or 
three  places  we  can  detect  hard,  solid,  but  smooth  lumps 


DOGS:    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  225 

within  the  cavity.  This  last  discovery  leaves  no  room  for 
further  doubt,  so  we  pronounce  the  liver  to  be  the  organ 
that  is  principally  affected.  In  chronic  cases,  especially 
after  the  dog  has  begun  to  waste,  enlargement  nearly 
always  may  be  felt,  not  invariably  hard,  yet  often  so,  but 
never  soft  or  so  soft  as  the  other  parts  ;  and  this  proof 
should,  therefore,  in  every  instance  of  the  kind  be  sought  for. 
With  regard  to  treatment,  the  food  must  not  be  sud- 
denly reduced  to  the  starvation  point.  Whether  the 
dog  be  fat  or  lean,  let  the  quality  be  nutritious,  and  the 
quantity  sufficient ;  from  a  quarter  of  a  pound  to  a  pound 
and  a  half  of  paunch,  divided  into  four  meals,  will  be 
enough  for  a  single  day  ;  but  nothing  more  than  this 
must  be  given.  Tonics,  to  strengthen  the  system  gene- 
rally, should  be  employed ;  and  an  occasional  dose  of  the 
cathartic  pills  administered,  providing  the  condition  is 
such  as  justifies  the  use  of  purgatives.  Frequent  small 
blisters,  applied  over  the  region  of  the  liver,  may  do  good ; 
but  they  should  not  be  larger  than  two  or  four  inches 
across,  and  they  should  be  repeated  one  every  three  or  four 
days.  Leeches  put  upon  the  places  where  hardness  can 
be  felt,  also  are  beneficial  j  but  depletion  must  be  regu- 
lated by  the  ability  of  the  animal  to  sustain  it.  A  long 
course  of  iodide  of  potassium  in  solution,  combined  with  the 
liquor  potassse,  will,  however,  constitute  the  principal  de- 
pendence. 

Iodide  of  potassium  .     .     Two  drachms  two  scruples. 

Liquor  potassse     .     .     .     One  ounce  and  a  half. 

Simple  syrup    ....     Six  ounces. 

Water Twelve  ounces  and  a  half. 

10* 


226  DOG3  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

Give  from  half  a  teaspoonful  to  a  teaspoonful  three  times 
a  day. 

The  above  must  be  persevered  in  for  a  couple  of  months 
before  any  effect  can  be  anticipated.  Mercury  I  have 
not  found  of  any  service,  though  Elaine  speaks  highly 
of  it,  and  Youatt  quotes  his  opinion.  Perhaps  I  have 
not  employed  it  rightly,  or  ventured  to  push  it  far 
enough. 

Under  the  treatment  recommended,  the  dog  may  be 
preserved  from  speedy  death  ;  but  the  structures  have 
been  so  much  changed  that  medicine  cannot  be  expected 
to  restore  them.  The  pet  may  be  saved  to  its  indulgent 
mistress,  and  again  perhaps  exhibit  all  the  charms  for 
which  it  was  ever  prized ;  but  the  sporting-dog  will  never 
be  made  capable  of  doing  work,  and  certainly  it  is  not  to 
be  selected  to  breed  from  after  it  has  sustained  an  attack 
of  hepatitis. 

Sometimes,  during  the  existence  of  hepatitis,  the  animal 
will  be  seized  with  fits  of  pain,  which  appear  to  render  it 
frantic.  These  I  always  attribute  to  the  passage  of  gall 
stones,  which  I  have  taken  in  comparative  large  quantities 
from  the « gall-bladders  of  dogs.  The  cries  and  strug- 
gles create  alarm,  but  the  attack  is  seldom  fatal.  A  brisk 
purgative,  a  warm  bath,  and  free  use  of  laudanum  and 
ether,  afford  relief ;  for  when  the  animal  dies  of  chronic 
hepatitis,  it  perishes  gradually  from  utter  exhaustion. 

The  post-mortem  examination  generally  presents  that 
which  much  surprises  the  proprietor ;  one  lobe  of  the 
gland  is  very  greatly  enlarged;  it  evidently  contains 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  227 

fluid.  It  has  under  disease  become  a  vast  cyst,  from 
which,  in  a  setter,  I  have  actually  extracted  more  than 
two  gallons  of  serum  :  from  a  small  spaniel  I  have  taken 
this  organ  so  increased  in  size  that  it  positively  weighed 
one  half  the  amount  of  the  body  from  which  it  was 
removed.  The  wonder  is  that  the  apparently  weak  cover- 
ing to  the  liver  could  bear  so  great  a  pressure  without 
bursting. 


INDIGESTION. 

THINGS  must  seem  to  have  come  to  a  pretty  pass  when 
a  book  is  gravely  written  upon  dyspepsia  in  dogs. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  in  earnest  when  I  treat  upon  that 
subject ;  and  could  the  animals  concerned  bear  witness, 
they  would  testify  it  was  indeed  no  joke.  The  Lord 
Mayor  of  London  does  not  retire  from  office  with  a 
stomach  more  deranged  than  the  majority  of  the  canine 
race,  shielded  by  his  worshipful  authority,  could  exhibit. 
The  cause  in  both  instances  is  the  same.  Dogs  as  they 
increase  in  years  seem  to  degenerate  sadly  ;  till  at  length 
they  mumble  dainties  and  relish  flavors  with  the  gusto 
of  an  alderman.  Pups  even  are  not  worthy  of  unlimited 
confidence.  The  little  animals  will  show  much  ingenuity 
in. procuring  substances  that  make  the  belly  ache ;  and, 
with  infantine  perversity,  will,  of  their  own  accord,  gobble 
things  which,  if  administered,  would  excite  shrieks  of 
resistance.  A  litter  of  high-bred  pups  is  a  source  of  no 


228  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

less  constant  annoyance,  nor  does  it  require  less  incessant 
watching,  than  a  nursery  of  children.  There  is  so  much 
similarity  between  man  and  dog  that,  from  fear  of  too 
strongly  wounding  the  self-love  of  my  reader,  I  must 
drop  the  subject. 

Indigestion  in  dogs  assumes  various  forms,  and  is  the 
source  of  numerous  diseases.  Most  skin  affections  may 
be  attributed  to  it.  The  inflammation  of  the  gums,  the 
foulness  of  the  teeth,  and  the  offensiveness  of  the  breath, 
are  produced  by  it.  Excessive  fatness,  with  its  attend- 
ant asthma  and  hollow  cough,  are  to  be  directly  traced  to 
a  disordered  digestion.  In  the  long  run,  half  of  the 
petted  animals  die  from  diseases  originating  in  this  cause ; 
and  in  nearly  every  instance  the  fault  lies  far  more  with 
the  weakness  of  the  master  than  with  the  corruptness 
of  the  beast.  He  who  is  invested  with  authority  has 
more  sins,  than  those  he  piously  acknowledges  his  own, 
to  answer  for. 

The  symptoms  are  not  obscure.  A  dislike  for  whole- 
some food,  and  a  craving  for  hotly  spiced  or  highly 
sweetened  diet,  is  an  indication.  Thirst  and  sickness 
are  more  marked.  A  love  for  eating  string,  wood, 
thread,  and  paper,  denotes  the  fact ;  and  is  wrongly  put 
down  to  the  prompting  of  a  mere  mischievous  instinct : 
any  want  of  natural  appetite,  or  any  evidence  of  morbid 
desire  in  the  case  of  food,  declares  the  stomach  to  be 
disordered.  The  dog  that,  when  offered  a  piece  of 
bread,  smells  it  with  a  sleepy  eye,  and  without  taking  it 
licks  the  fingers  that  present  it,  has  an  impaired  diges- 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  229 

tion.  Such  an  animal  will  perhaps  only  take  the  morsel 
when  it  is  about  to  be  withdrawn  ;  and,  having  got  it, 
does  not  swallow  it,  but  places  it  on  the  ground,  and 
stands  over  it  with  an  expression  of  peevish  disgust.  A 
healthy  dog  is  always  decided.  No  animal  can  be  more 
so.  It  wilj  often  take  that  which  it  cannot  eat,  but; 
having  done  so,  it  either  throws  the  needless  possession 
away  or  lies  down,  and  with  a  determined  air  watches 
"  the  property."  There  is  no  vexation  in  its  looks,  no 
captiousness  in  its  manner.  It  acts  with  decision,  and 
there  is  purpose  in  what  it  does.  The  reverse  is  the  case 
with  dogs  suffering  from  indigestion.  They  are  peevish 
and  irresolute.  They  take  only  because  another  shall 
not  have.  They  will  perhaps  eat  greedily  what  they  do 
not  want  if  the  cat  looks  longfully  at  that  which  had 
lain  before  them  for  many  minutes,  and  which  no  coax- 
ing could  i'uduce  them  to  swallow.  They  are,  in  their 
foibles,  very  like  the  higher  animal. 

The  treatment  is  simple.  The  dog  must  be  put  upon, 
and  strictly  kept  upon,  an  allowance.  Some  persons, 
when  these  animals  are  sent  to  them,  because  the  crea- 
tures are  fat  and  sickly,  shut  the  dogs  up  for  two  or  four 
days,  and  allow  them  during  the  period  to  taste  nothing 
but  water.  The  trick  often  succeeds,  but  it  is  dangerous 
in  severe  cases,  and  needless  in  mild  ones.  This  is  a 
heartless  practice,  which  ignorance  only  would  resort  to  ; 
but  such  conduct  is  very  general,  and  the  people  who 
follow  it  boast  laughingly  of  its  effect.  They  do  not 
care  for  its  consequences.  A  weakly  stomach  cannot  be 


230  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

benefited  by  a  prolonged  abstinence.  I  have  kept  a  dog 
four-and-twenty  hours  without  food,  but  never  longer, 
and  then  only  when  the  animal  has  been  brought  to  me 
with  a  tale  about  its  not  eating.  The  report,  then,  is 
assurance  that  food  has  been  offered,  and  the  inference  is 
that  the  stomach  is  loaded.  A  little  rest  enables  it  to 
get  rid  of  its  contents,  and  in  some  measure  to  recover 
its  tone.  The  dog,  as  a  general  rule,  does  well  on  one 
meal  a  day ;  afterward,  the  food  is  regularly  weighed, 
and  nothing  more  than  the  quantity  is  permitted.  This 
quantity  may  be  divided  into  three  or  four  meals,  and 
given  at  stated  periods,  so  that  the  last  is  eaten  at  night. 
When  thus  treated,  animals,  which  I  am  assured  would 
touch  nothing,  have  soon  become  possessors  of  vigorous 
appetites.  At  the  same  time,  exercise  and  the  cold  bath 
every  morning  is  ordered ;  and  either  tonic  or  gentle 
sedatives,  with  alkalies  and  vegetable  bitters,  are  admi- 
nistered. The  following  are  the  ordinary  stomach-pills, 
and  do  very  well  for  the  generality  of  cases  : — 

Extract  of  hyoscyamus    .  Sixteen  grains. 

Sodse  carb Half  an  ounce. 

Extract  of  gentian  .     .     .  Half  an  ounce. 

Ferri  carb. Half  an  ounce. 

Make  into  sixteen,  thirty,  or  eight  pills,  and  give  two 
daily. 

The  reader,  however,  will  not  depend  upon  any  one 
compound,  for  stomach  disease  is  remarkably  capricious. 
Sometimes  one  thing  and  sometimes  another  does  a  great 


DOGS  !     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  231 

deal  of  good ;  but  the  same  thing  is  seldom  equally  good 
in  any  two  cases.  Stimulants,  as  nitrate  of  silver,  tris- 
nitrate  of  bismuth,  or  nux  vomica,  are  occasionally  of 
great  service  ;  and  so  also  are  purgatives  and  emetics, 
but  these  last,  when  they  do  no  benefit,  always  do  much 
injury.  They  should,  therefore,  be  tried  last,  and  then 
with  caution,  the  order  being  thus : — Tonics,  sedatives, 
and  alkalies,  either  singly  or  in  combination,  and  fre- 
quently changed.  Stimulants  and  excitants  in  small 
doses,  gradually  increased.  Emetics  and  purgatives, 
mingled  with  any  of  the  foregoing.  The  food  and  exer- 
cise, after  all,  will  do  more  for  the  restoration  than  the 
medicine,  which  must  be  so  long  continued  that  the 
mind  doubts  whether  it  is  of  any  decided  advantage. 
The  affection  is  always  chronic,  and  time  is  therefore  im- 
perative for  its  cure. 

Dogs  are  afflicted  with  a  disease  of  the  stomach,  which 
is  very  like  to  "  water-brash,"  "  pyrosis,"  or  "  cardialgia," 
in  the  human  being.  The  animals  thus  tormented  are 
generally  fully  grown  and  weakly  :  a  peculiarity  in  the 
walk  shows  the  strength  is  feeble.  The  chief  symptom 
is,  however,  not  to  be  mistaken.  The  creature  is  dull 
just  before  .the  attack :  it  gets  by  itself,  and  remains 
quiet.  All  at  once  it  rises;  and  without  an  effort,  no 
premonitory  sounds  being  heard,  a  quantity  of  fluid  is 
ejected  from  the  mouth,  and  by  the  shaking  of  the 
head  scattered  about.  This  appears  to  afford  relief,  but 
the  same  thing  may  occur  frequently  during  the  day. 
This  disease  of  itself  is  not  dangerous  ;  but  it  is  trouble- 


232  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

some,  and  will  make  any  other  disorder  the  more  likely 
to  terminate  fatally ;  it  should,  therefore,  be  always  at- 
tended to.  The  food  must  not  be  neglected,  and  either 
a  solution  of  the  iodide  of  potassium  with  liquor  po- 
tassse,  or  pills  of  trisnitrate  of  bismuth,  must  be  given. 
The  preparations  of  iron  are  sometimes  of  use  ;  and  a 
leech  or  two,  after  a  small  blister  to  the  side,  has  also 
seemed  to  be  beneficial.  When  some  ground  has  been 
gained,  the  treatment  recommended  for  indigestion 
generally  must  be  adopted,  the  choice  of  remedies 
being  guided  by  the  symptoms.  The  practitioner,  how- 
ever, must  not  forget  that  tho  mode  of  feeding  has 
probably  been  the  cause  ;  and,  therefore,  it  must  ever 
after  be  an  object  of  especial  care.  The  cold  bath 
and  exercise,  proportioned  to  the  strength,  are  equally 
to  be  esteemed. 

Very  old  dogs  often  die  from  indigestion,  and  in  such 
cases  the  stomach  will  become  inflated  to  an  extent 
that  would  hardly  be  credited.  These  animals  I  have 
not  observed  to  be  subject  to  flatulent  colic  ;  when, 
therefore,  the  abdomen  becomes  suddenly  tympanitic 
the  gas  is  usually  contained  in  the  stomach.  Fits  and 
diarrhoea  may  accompany  or  precede  the  attack,  which 
in  the  first  instance  yields  to  treatment ;  but  in  a  month 
more  or  less  returns,  and  is  far  more  stubborn.  Ether 
and  laudanum,  by  mouth  and  enema,  are  at  first  to  be 
employed  ;  and,  generally,  they  are  successful.  The 
liquor  potassae,  chloride  of  lime  in  solution,  and  aroma- 
tics  with  chalk,  may  also  be  tried,  the  food  being 


DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  233 

strengthening  but  entirely  fluid.  The  warm  bath  is 
here  highly  injurious;  and  bleeding  or  purging  out  of 
the  question.  When  the  distension  of  the  stomach 
is  so  great  as  to  threaten  suffocation,  the  tube  of 
the  stomach-pump  may  be  introduced  ;  but,  unless 
danger  be  present,  the  practitioner  ought  to  depend 
upon  the  efforts  of  nature,  to  support  which  all  his 
measures  should  be  directed.  After  recovery,  meat 
scraped  as  for  potting,  without  any  admixture  of  vege- 
tables, must  constitute  the  diet ;  and  while  a  sufficien- 
cy is  given,  a  very  little  only  must  be  allowed  at  a 
time.  With  these  precautions  the  life  may  be  pro- 
longed, but  the  restoration  of  health  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected. 


GASTRITIS. 


DOGS  are  abused  for  their  depraved  tastes,  and  re- 
proached for  the  filth  they  eat ;  but  if  one  of  them, 
being  of  a  particular  disposition  in  the  article  of  food, 
takes  to  killing  his  own  mutton,  he  is  knocked  on  the 
head  as  too  luxurious.'  It  is  a  very  vulgar  mistake  to 
imagine  the  canine  race  have  no  preferences.  They 


234  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

have  their  likes  and  dislikes  quite  as  strong  and  as 
capricious  as  other  animals.  Man  himself  does  not 
more  frequently  impair  his  digestion  by  over  indul- 
gence than  does  the  dog.  In  both  cases  the  punish- 
ment is  the  same,  but  the  brute  having  the  more  deli- 
cate digestion  suffers  most  severely.  The  dog's  stom- 
ach is  so  subject  to  be  deranged  that  few  of  these 
creatures  can  afford  to  gormandize  ;  to  which  failing, 
however,  they  are  much  inclined.  The  consequence  is 
soon  shown.  A  healthy  dog  can  make  a  hearty  meal 
and  sleep  soundly  after  it.  The  petted  favorite  is  often 
pained  by  a  moderate  quantity  of  food,  and  frequent 
are  the  housemaid's  regrets  that  his  digestion  is  not 
more  retentive.  He  spoils  other  things  besides  vic- 
tuals ;  and  the  more  daintily  he  lives  the  more  gene- 
rally is  he  troublesome.  It  is  the  variety  that  dis- 
eases him.  He  grows  to  be  omnivorous.  He  learns 
to  relish  that  which  nature  did  not  fit  him  to  con- 
sume, and  as  a  consequence  he  pays  for  his  bad  ha- 
bits. The  dog  in  extreme  cases  can  digest  even  bones ; 
a  banquet  of  tainted  flesh  will  not  disorder  him  ;  but 
he  cannot  subsist  in  health  on  his  lady's  diet.  His 
stomach  was  formed  to  receive  and  assimilate  certain 
substances,  and  to  deny  these  is  not  to  be  generous  or 
kind. 

Gastritis  is  very  common  with  ladies*  favorites.  Its 
symptoms  are  well  marked.  Frequent  sickness  is  the 
first  indication.  This  is  taken  little  notice  of.  The 
mess  is  cleared  up,  and  the  matter  is  forgotten.  Thirst 


DO&S  !     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  235 

is  jcnfitanfc,  and  the  lapping  is  long ;  but  no  further  notice 
is  taken  of  this  circumstance,  than  to  remark  the  animal 
has  grown  very  fond  of  water.  At  last  the  thirst  has  in- 
creased, and  no  sooner  is  the  draught  swallowed  than  it 
is  ejected.  The  appetite  which  may  have  been  ravenous 
a  little  time  before,  now  grows  bad,  and  whatever  is  eaten 
is  immediately  returned.  The  animal  is  evidently  ill. 
The  nose  is  dry,  and  the  breathing  quick.  It  avoids 
warmth,  and  lies  and  pants,  away  from  the  hearthrug.  It 
dislikes  motion  and  stretches  itself  out,  either  upon  its 
chest  or  on  its  belly.  Sometimes  it  moans,  and  more 
rarely  cries.  The  stomach  is  now  inflamed  ;  and  if  the 
symptoms  could  have  been  earlier  understood,  frequently 
has  the  animal  been  seen,  prior  to  this  stage  of  attack, 
licking  the  polished  steel  fire-irons.  It  has  been  horrify- 
ing its  mistress's  propriety,  by  its  instinctive  desire  to 
touch  something  cold  with  its  burning  tongue ;  and  the 
poor  little  beast  perhaps  has  been  chastised  for  seeking  a 
momentary  relief  to  its  affliction. 

Dogs  that  are  properly  treated  rarely  have  gastritis. 
When  they  do,  it  is  generally  induced  by  some  unwhole- 
some food.  I  have  known  it  to  be  caused  by  graves 
more  often  than  by  anything  else  they  are  accustomed  to 
eat.  I  never  recommend  this  stuff  to  be  given  to  dogs. 
Meal  and  skim  milk  is  far  better,  and  that  can  always  be 
procured  where  flesh  is  scarce.  The  entrails  of  sheep,  &c., 
if  washed  and  boiled  with  a  large  quantity  of  any  kind  of 
meal,  are  nutritious  and  wholesome ;  nay,  even  when  a 
little  tainted,  they  will  not  be  refused.  If,  however,  they 


236  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

were  hung  up  in  a  strong  draught,  they  would  soon  dry  •, 
and  in  that  state  might  be  preserved  for  use  any  length 
of  time;  all  they  afterwards  require  would  be  boiling. 
The  paunch  can  be  prepared  in  the  same  manner ;  and  it 
would  be  worth  some  little  trouble  to  avoid  a  mixture 
which  contains  nothing  strengthening,  and  too  often  a 
great  deal  that  is  injurious. 

The  treatment  of  gastritis  is  simple.  It  is  generally 
accompanied  by  more  or  less  diarrhoea  ;  but  the  violence 
of  the  leading  symptom  renders  that  of  comparatively 
little  consequence.  The  degree  of  sickness  will  always 
indicate  whether  the  stomach  is  the  principal  seat  of  dis- 
ease. 

As  nothing  is  retained,  it  would  be  a  needless  trouble 
to  give  many  solids  or  fluids,  by  the  mouth.  From  half 
a  grain  to  a  grain  and  a  half  of  calomel,  thoroughly  mixed 
with  the  same  quantities  of  powdered  opium,  may  be 
sprinkled  upon  the  tongue  ;  and  from  one  drachm  to  four 
drachms  of  sulphuric  ether  may  be  given  in  as  much 
water  as  will  dissolve  it  twenty  minutes  afterwards.  The 
medicine  will  most  probably  be  ejected  ;  but,  as  it  is  very 
volatile,  it  may  be  retained  sufficient  time  to  have  some 
influence  in  quieting  the  spasmodic  irritability  of  the  sto' 
mach.  Ethereal  injections  should  be  administered  every 
hour,  and  no  food  of  any  kind  allowed.  Besides  this, 
from  a  quarter  of  a  grain  to  a  grain  of  opium  may  be 
sprinkled  on  the  tongue  every  hour;  and  the  ether 
draught  continued  until  the  sickness  ceases,  or  the  animal 
displays  signs  of  being  narcotised.  An  ammoniacal  blis- 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  237 

ter,  if  the  symptoms  are  urgent,  may  be  applied  to  the 
left  side ;  but  in  mild  ca-es,  a  strong  embrocation  will 
answer  every  purpose.  Except  the  constitution  be  vigor- 
ous, and  the  pulse  very  strong,  it  will  not  be  advisable  to 
bleed,  but  from  two  to  twelve  leeches  may  be  applied  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  chest.  Cold  water  may  be  allowed 
in  any  quantity,  but  nothing  warm  should  be  given.  The 
colder  the  water,  the  better,  and  the  more  grateful  it  will 
be  to  the  animal.  Where  it  can  be  obtained,  a  large  lump 
of  ice  may  be  placed  in  the  water,  for  the  dog  often  will 
lick  this,  and  sometimes  even  gnaw  it.  Small  lumps  of 
ice  may  be  forced  down  as  pills,  and  a  cold  bath  may  be 
given,  the  animal  being  well  wrapped  up  afterwards, 
that  it  may  become  warm,  and  the  blood,  by  the  natural 
reaction,  be  determined  to  the  skin. 

When  the  sickness  is  conquered,  the  following  should 
be  administered : — 

Powdered  nux  vomica    .     A  quarter  of  a  grain  to  a  grain. 
Sulphate  of  iron     .     .     .     One  grain  to  four  grains. 
Extract  of  gentian      .     .     Sufficient  to  make  a  pill. 

The  above  may  be  repeated  every  four  hours  until  the 
stomach  is  quiet ;  but  it  is  not  always  tranquillized  ;  sick- 
ness may  return,  and  the  pills  may  possibly  seem  to  ag- 
gravate it.  If  such  should  appear  to  be  the  case,  try  the 
next : — 

Acid  hydrocyanic,  L.  P.     One  drop  to  four  drops. 
Carbonate  of  soda     .     .     Three  grains  to  twelve  grains. 
Water A  sufficiency. 


238  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

The  ether  and  opium  must  also  be  persevered  with,  re- 
gulating the  last  of  course  by  the  action  which  it  induces. 

Food  should  consist  of  cold  broth,  slightly  thickened 
with  ground  rice,  arrowroot,  starch,  or  flour,  and  for  some 
days  it  must  be  composed  of  nothing  more ;  but  by  de- 
grees the  thickness  may  be  increased,  and  a  little  bread 
and  milk  introduced.  After  a  time  a  small  portion  of 
minced  underdone  meat,  without  skin  or  fat,  may  be 
allowed ;  but  the  quantity  must  be  small,  and  the  quality 
unexceptionable. 

The  second  day  generally  sees  an  abatement  of  the 
more  urgent  symptoms,  and  then  the  draught  may  be 
composed  of  five  minims  of  laudanum  to  every  drachm  of 
ether,  and  ten  drachms  of  water.  This  to  be  given  both 
by  mouth  and  injection  six  times  daily.  The  former  pills 
were  intended  only  to  allay  the  primary  violence  of  the 
disease,  and  when  that  object  is  attained,  the  following 
remedy  may  be  employed  : — 

Extract  of  hyoscyamus    .  One  grain  to  four  grains. 

Carbonate  of  soda  .     .     .  Three  grains  to  twelve  grains. 

Carbonate  of  ammonia    .  Half  a  grain  to  two  grains. 

Extract  of  gentian  .    .    .  Five  grains  to  a  scruple. 

Powdered  quassia  ...  A  sufficiency. 

The  above  is  for  one  pill,  which  should  be  repeated 
four  times  daily,  and  continued  for  some  days ;  when,  if 
the  dog  seems  quite  recovered,  a  course  of  the  quinine 
tonic  pills,  as  recommended  for  distemper,  will  be  of  use ; 
but  should  any  suspicion  be  created  of  the  disorder  not 


DOGS  t     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  239 

being  entirely  removed,  the  animal  may  be  treated  as 
advised  for  indigestion. 

Sporting  dogs  are  frequently  sent  to  me  suffering  under 
what  the  proprietors  are  pleased  to  term  "  Foul."  The 
history  of  these  cases  is  soon  known.  They  have  been 
withdrawn  from  the  field  at  the  close  of  the  season,  and 
have  ever  since  been  shut  up  in  close  confinement,  while 
the  working  diet  has  been  persevered  with.  The  poor 
beast  is  supposed  capable  of  vegetating  until  the  return 
of  the  period  for  shooting  requires  his  services.  He 
remains  chained  up  till  he  acquires  every  outward  disease 
to  which  his  kind  are  liable  ;  and  then,  when  he  stinks 
the  place  out,  his  owner  is  surprised  at  his  condition, 
pronouncing  his  misused  animal  to  be  "  very  foul." 
"  Foul  "  is  not  one  disease,  but  an  accumulation  of  disor- 
ders brought  on  by  the  absence  of  exercise  with  a  stimu- 
lating diet.  The  sporting  dog,  when  really  at  work,  may 
have  all  the  flesh  it  can  consume ;  but  at  the  termination 
of  that  period  its  food  should  consist  wholly  of  vegetable 
substances,  while  a  little  exercise  daily  is  necessary,  not 
to  health,  but  absolutely  for  life.  The  dog  with  "  foul  " 
requires  each  seat  of  disease  to  be  treated  separately ; 
beginning  of  course  with  the  dressing  for  mange  or  for 
lice,  one  or  the  other  of  which  the  animal  is  certain  to 
display. 


240  1X)6S  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 


DISEASES   DEPENDENT    ON    AN    INTERNAL    ORGAN. 
STOMACH. — ST.   VITUs's   DANCE. 

THIS  disease  generally  is  assumed  to  be  a  nervous  dis- 
order, and  so  the  symptoms  declare  it  to  be ;  but  on  post 
mortem  examinations  no  lesion  is  found  either  upon  the 
brain,  spinal  marrow,  or  the  nerves  themselves.  This 
last  circumstance,  however,  proves  nothing ;  for  the  same 
thing  may  be  said  of  tetanus  in  the  human  being,  and  of 
stringhalt  in  the  horse i;  both  of  them  being  well-marked 
nervous  affections.  I  append  St.  Vitus's  Dance  to  the 
stomach,  not  because  of  that  which  I  have  not  beheld, 
but  because  of  that  which  I  have  positively  seen. 

It  follows  upon  distemper.  I  do  not  know  it  as  a  dis- 
tinct disorder,  though  it  is  asserted  to  exist  as  such  when 
the  greater  or  leading  disease  is  unobserved.  It  then 
follows  up  the  affection  which  primarily  involves  the 
stomach  and  intestines,  and  to  which  indications  all  other 
symptoms  are  secondary.  On  every  post  mortem  which 
I  have  made  of  this  disorder,  I  have  discovered  the 
stomach  inflamed ;  and,  therefore,  not  because  the  nerves 
or  their  centres  are  blank,  but  because  on  one  important 
viscus  I  have  found  well  marked  signs  to  impress  my 
reason,  I  propose  to  treat  of  this  disorder  as  connected 
with  the  stomach. 

The  signs  to  which  I  allude,  consists  of  patches  of 
•well-defined  inflammation ;  and  hence,  knowing  how  dis- 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  241 

temper  lias  the  power  to  involve  other  organs,  I  conclude 
it  has  caused  the  spinal  marrow  to  be  sympathetically 
affected. 

The  symptoms  of  the  disease  are  well  marked.  The 
poor  beast,  whether  he  be  standing  up  or  lying  down,  is 
constantly  worried  with  a  catching  of  the  limb  or  limbs — 
for  only  one  may  be  affected,  or  all  four  may  be  attacked. 
Sleeping  or  waking,  the  annoyance  continues.  The  dog 
cannot  obtain  a  moment's  rest  from  its  tormentor.  Day 
and  night  the  movement  remains  ;  no  act,  no  position  the 
poor  brute  is  capable  of,  can  bring  to  the  animal  an 
instant's  downright  repose.  Its  sleep  is  troubled  and 
broken ;  its  waking  moments  are  rendered  miserable  by 
this  terrible  infliction.  The  worst  of  the  matter  is,  that 
the  dog  in  every  other  respect  appears  to  be  well.  Its 
spirits  are  good,  and  it  is  alive  for  happiness.  If  it  were 
released  from  its  constant  affliction,  it  is  eager  to  enjoy  its 
brief  lease  of  life  as  in  the  time  of  perfect  health.  Plain- 
tive and  piteous  are  its  looks  as,  lying  asleep  before  the 
fire,  it  is  aroused  by  a  sudden  pain ;  wakes,  turns  round, 
and  mutely  appeals  to  its  master  for  an  explanation  or  a 
removal  of  the  nuisance.  When  stricken  down  at  last,  as, 
unable  to  stand,  it  lies  upon  its  straw,  most  sad  is  it  to 
see  the  poor  head  raised,  and  to  hear  the  tail  in  motion 
welcoming  any  one  who  may  enter  the  place  in  which  it 
is  a  helpless  but  a  necessary  prisoner. 

In  this  disorder  the  best  thing  is  to  pay  every  atten- 
tion to  the  food.  The  wretched  animal  generally  has  an 
enormous  appetite,  and,  when  it  is  unable  to  stand,  will 

11 


242  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

continue  feeding  to  the  last.  This  morbid  hunger  must 
not  be  indulged.  One  pound  of  good  rice  may  be  boiled 
or  cooked  in  a  sufficiency  of  carefully  made  beef-tea,  every 
particle  of  meat  or  bone  being  removed.  This  will  con- 
stitute the  provender  for  one  day  necessary  to  sustain  the 
largest  dog,  and  a  quarter  the  amount  will  be  sufficient 
for  one  of  the  average  size.  Where  good  rice  is  not  to  be 
obtained,  oatmeal  or  bread,  allowing  for  the  moisture 
which  the  last  contains,  may  be  substituted.  No  bones, 
nor  substances  likely,  when  swallowed,  to  irritate  the 
stomach,  must  on  any  account  be  allowed.  The  quantity 
given  at  one  time  must  ever  be  small ;  and  every  sort  of 
provender  offered  should  be  soft  and  soothing  to  the 
internal  parts ;  though  the  poor  dog  will  be  eager  to  eat 
that  which  will  be  injurious.  Water  should  be  placed 
within  its  reach,  and  offered  during  the  day,  the  head 
being  held  while  the  incapacitated  animal  drinks. 

When  a  dog  is  prostrated  by  this  affliction,  it  must  on 
no  account  be  suffered  to  remain  on  the  floor,  where  its 
limbs  would  speedily  become  excoriated,  being  forcibly 
moved  upon  the  boards  ;  anything  placed  beneath  the 
animal  to  save  the  limbs,  would  be  saturated  with  the 
urine  and  fyeces  the  poor  beast  is  necessitated  to  pass. 
The  best  bed  in  such  cases  is  made  of  a  slanting  piece 
of  woodwork,  of  sufficient  size  to  allow  the  animal  to  lie 
with  ease  at  full  length.  The  planks  composing  the 
wooden  stage  must  be  placed  apart,  be  pierced  with 
numerous  holes,  have  the  edges  rounded,  and  be  elevated 
at  one  end  so  as  to  allow  all  moisture  readily  to  run  of£ 


DOGS  *.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  243 

The  wood  must  be  covered  with  a  quantity  of  straw;  which 
sort  of  bedding  is  convenient,  not  only  because  it  allows 
the  water  to  speedily  percolate  through  it,  but  because 
it  is  warm,  and  being  cheap,  permits  of  repeated  change. 
Physic  is  not  of  much  avail  in  this  disorder;  kind 
nursing  and  mild  food  will  do  more  towards  recovery. 
Still,  medicine,  as  an  accessory,  may  be  of  considerable 
service,  and  in  a  secondary  view  deserves  honorable 
mention.  Alkalies,  sedatives,  and  vegetable  bitters,  may 
be  combined  in  various  forms.  The  author's  favorite 
sedative  in  stomach  diseases  is  hyoscyamus,  and  alkali 
potash.  For  a  bitter,  quassia  is  a  very  good  one ; 
better  than  gentian,  a  small  amount  of  the  extract  of 
which,  however,  may  be  used  to  make  up  the  pill.  When 
speaking  of  the  pill,  the  most  important  ingredient  must 
not  be  forgotten — I  mean  mix  vonica.  Some  people 
employ  strychnia,  but  such  persons  more  often  kill  than 
cure  their  patients.  Strychnia  in  any  doses,  however 
minute,  is  a  violent  poison  to  the  dog.  While  at  college 
I  beheld  animals  killed  with  it ;  and  there  does  not  live 
the  person  who  knows  how  to  render  this  agent  safe  to 
the  dog.  Nux  vomica,  even,  must  be  used  in  very  minute 
doses,  to  be  entirely  safe — from  a  quarter  of  a  grain  to  a 
small  pup,  to  two  grains  to  the  largest  animal.  That 
quantity  must  be  continued  for  a  week,  four  pills  being 
given  daily ;  then  add  a  quarter  of  a  grain  daily  to 
the  four  larger  pills,  and  a  quarter  of  a  grain  every  four 
days  to  all  the  smaller  ones ;  keep  on  increasing  the 
amount,  till  the  physiological  effects  of  the  drug,  as  they 


244  DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

are  called,  become  developed.  These  consist  in  the  beast 
having  that  which  uninformed  people  term  "  a  fit."  He 
lies  upon  the  ground,  uttering  rather  loud  cries,  whilst 
every  muscle  of  his  body  is  in  motion.  Thus  he  con- 
tinues scratching,  as  if  it  was  his  desire  to  be  up  and  off 
at  a  hundred  miles  an  hour.  No  sooner  is  he  rid  of  one 
attack  than  he  has  another.  He  retains  his  conscious- 
ness, but  is  unable  to  give  any  sign  of  recognition.  It  is 
useless  to  crowd  round  the  animal  in  this  state  ;  the  drug 
must  perform  its  office,  and  will  do  so,  in  spite  of  human 
effort.  The  very  best  thing  that  can  be  done,  is  to  let 
the  animal  alone  until  the  attack  is  over,  when  writers  on 
Materia  Medica  tell  us  improvement  is  perceptible.  I 
wish  it  was  so  in  dogs.  I  have  beheld  the  physiological 
effect  of  nux  vomica  repeatedly,  but  cannot  recollect 
*nany  instances  in  which  I  could  date  amendment  from 
its  appearance. 

The  following  is  the  formula  for  the  pill  recently 
alluded  to  : — 

Potash Two  to  seven  grains. 

Extract  of  hyoscyamus .  Half  a  grain  to  four  grains. 

Quassia  powder  .     .     .  Three  to  sixteen  grains. 

Nux  vomica    ....  A  quarter  of  a  grain  to  two  grains. 

Extract  of  gentian   .     .  A  sufficiency. 

The  above  quantities  are  sufficient  for  one  pill,  four  of 
which  are  to  be  given  daily  for  a  week,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  period  the  increase  may  begin.  If  the  above, 
after  a  fair  test  has  been  made  of  it,  does  not  succeed, 


BOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  245 

trial  may  be  instituted  of  the  nitrate  of  silver,  the  trisni- 
trate  of  bismuth,  or  any  of  the  various  drugs  said  to  be 
beneficial  in  the  disease,  or  of  service  in  stomach  com- 
plaints. In  this  disorder  the  same  drug  never  appears 
to  act  twice  alike,  therefore  a  change  is  warranted  and 
desirable. 

Hopes  of  restoration  may  be  entertained  if  the  animal 
can  only  be  kept  alive  to  recover  strength  ;  then  confi- 
dent expectation  can  be  expressed  that  the  dog  will  out- 
grow the  disease.  The  first  signs  perceptible  which 
denote  recovery  are  these  : — The  provender  the  beast 
consumes  is  evidently  not  thrown  away.  Instead  of 
eating  much,  and  ungratefully  becoming  thinner  and 
thinner  upon  that  which  it  consumes,  the  animal  displays 
a  disposition  to  thrive  upon  its  victuals.  It  does  not  get 
fat  on  what  it  eats,  but  it  evidently  loses  no  flesh.  It 
grows  no  thinner  :  and  if  the  strength  be  not  recruited, 
it  obviously  is  not  diminished.  The  animal  does  not 
gorge  much  wholesome  diet  daily,  to  exhibit  more  and 
more  the  signs  of  debility  and  starvation.  If  only  a  sus- 
picion can  be  felt  that  the  poor  dog  does  not  sink,  then 
hope  of  ultimate  success  may  warm  the  heart  of  a  kind 
master ;  but  when  the  reverse  is  obvious,  though  killing 
a  dog  is  next  to  killing  a  child — and  he  who  for  pleasure 
can  do  the  one,  is  not  far  off  from  doing  the  other — yet  it 
is  mercy  then  to  destroy  that  existence  which  must  else  be 
miserably  worn  away.  When  there  is  no  chance  left  for 
expectation  to  cling  to,  it  becomes  real  charity  to  do  vio- 
lence to  our  feelings,  in  order  that  we  may  spare  a  suffer* 


246  DOGS  :   THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

ing  creature  pain  ;  but  when  there  is  a  prospect,  however 
remote,  of  recovery,  I  hope  there  is  no  veterinary  sur- 
geon who  would  touch  the  life.  When  the  animal  can 
stand,  we  may  anticipate  good ;  and  whatever  is  left  of 
the  complaint,  we  may  assure  our  employers  will  vanish 
as  the  age  increases  ;  for  St.  Vitus's  Dance  is  essentially 
the  disease  of  young  dogs.  But  as  recovery  progresses, 
we  must  be  cautious  to  do  nothing  to  fling  the  animal 
back.  No  walks  must  be  enforced,  under  the  pretence  of 
administering  exercise.  The  animal  has  enough  of  that 
in  its  ever-jerking  limbs  ;  and  however  well  it  may  grow 
to  be  while  the  disease  lasts,  we  may  rest  assured  the  dog 
suffering  its  attack  stands  in  need  of  repose. 


BOWEL    DISEASES. 


CONTINUOUS  with  the  stomach  are  the  intestines,  which 
are  equally  subject  to  disease,  and  more  exposed  to  it  in 
an  acute  form  than  even  the  former  viscus.  The.  dog 
will  fill  its  belly  with  almost  anything,  but  there  is  little 
that  positively  agrees  with  it.  Boiled  rice  or  lean  meat, 
&c.,  and  coarse  biscuit,  are  the  best  general  food ;  but 
without  exercise,  even  these  will  not  support  health. 
The  dog  requires  constant  care  if  it  is  deprived  of  liberty  ; 
and  those  who  keep  these  animals  as  pets,  must  submit 
to  trouble,  for  though  art  may  do  much,  it  cannot  conquer 
Nature- 

The  intestines  of  the  dog  are  peculiar.  In  the  first 
place,  it  has  no  colon,  and  all  the  guts  are  nearly  of  one 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  247 

size  from  the  commencement  to  the  termination  ;  the 
duodenum  and  the  most  posterior  portion  of  the  rectum 
being  the  largest,  though  not  so  much  so  as  materially  to 
destroy  the  appearance  of  uniformity.  The  csecum  is  no 
more  than  a  small  appendage — a  little  sac  attached  to 
the  main  tube ;  it  has  but  one  opening,  and  that  is  very 
diminutive.  I  think  all  the  food,  as  in  other  animals, 
passes  into  and  out  of  this  intestine  ;  which,  because  of 
its  peculiar  formation,  is  therefore  particularly  liable 
to  be  disordered.  In  the  dog  which  has  died  of  intes- 
tinal disease,  the  caecum  is  almost  invariably  found 
enlarged  and  inflamed.  In  it,  I  imagine,  the  majority 
of  bowel  affections  have  their  origin.  The  gut  is 
first  loaded,  and  the  consequence  of  this  is,  it  loses 
its  natural  function.  The  contents  become  irritants  from 
being  retained,  and  the  whole  process  of  digestion  is 
deranged ;  other  parts  are  involved,  and  inflammation 
is  induced. 

Writers  do  not  notice  the  tendency  of  the  caecum  to  be, 
diseased,  or  remark  upon  its  disposition  to  exhibit  signn 
of  alteration  ;  but  the  fact  being  so  obvious,  I  wonder  it 
should  have  escaped  observation. 

COSTIVENESS  is,  in  some  measure,  natural  to  the  dog, 
and  in  that  animal  is  hardly  to  be  viewed  as  a  disease. 
In  health,  the  faeces  are  not  expelled  without  considera- 
ble straining,  and  the  matter  voided  ought  to  be  of  a  solid 
character.  It  nevertheless  should  not  be  absolutely  hard, 
or  positively  dry,  for  in  that  case  the  want  of  moisture 
shows  the  natural  secretion  of  the  rectum  is  deficient ;  the 


248  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

hardness  proving  prolonged  detention,  denoting  the  in- 
testines have  lost  their  activity. 

Both  Elaine  and  Youatt  were  educated  in  the  old 
school  of  medicine,  which  taught  them  to  regard  purga- 
tives as  the  surgeon's  best  friends,  and  the  sheet-anchors 
of  his  practice.  They  prescribe  them  in  almost  every 
case,  and  almost  on  every  occasion ;  but  I  rarely  give 
these  agents.  In  the  dog  I  am  convinced  they  are  not 
safe,  and  their  constant  use  is  by  no  means  imperative. 
Should  an  animal  be  supposed  not  to  have  been  relieved 
for  a  week,  this  fact  is  no  proof  that  a  purgative  is 
required.  The  animal  may  have  eluded  observation, 
and  it  cannot  inform  us  if  such  has  been  the  case.  The 
intestines  may  be  slow,  or  the  digestion  may  be  more 
than  usually  active.  It  is  foolish  to  lay  down  rules  for 
Nature,  and  punish  her  creatures  if  these  laws  are  not 
obeyed.  There  are,  however,  means  of  ascertaining  when 
a  purgative  is  needed  ;  and  these,  if  employed,  will  very 
rarely  deceive. 

The  muscles  covering  the  abdomen  of  the  dog  are  very 
thin,  and  through  them  the  contents  of  the  cavity  may 
be  plainly  felt.  By  squeezing  these  together,  the  fingers 
will  detect  whether  the  rectum,  which  lies  near  to  the 
spine,  and  of  course  backward  or  towards  the  tail,  contains 
any  substance.  Should  the  presence  of  any  solid  body 
be  ascertained,  its  character  ought  to  be  noted.  If  round 
and  comparatively  soft,  a  little  exercise  will  cause  it  to 
be  expelled ;  but  if  hard-pointed  in  places,  and  uneven, 
assistance  should  be  afforded.  An  enema,  of  the  solution 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  249 

of  soap — or  of  Epsom  salts,  from  half  an  ounce  to  a  quar- 
ter of  a  pound,  in  a  quarter  of  a  pint  to  a  quart  of 
water — may  be  administered.  A  more  active  injection 
will  be,  from  half  a  drachm  to  four  drachms  of  turpen- 
tine, beaten  up  with  the  yolks  of  so  many  eggs  as  there 
are  drachms  of  the  oil,  and  mixed  with  the  quantity  of 
water  just  named. 

Either  of  these  will  relieve  the  bowel ;  but  the  condi- 
tion of  one  part  justifies  an  inference  as  to  the  state  of 
another,  and  the  enema  probably  will  not  unload  the  cae- 
cnm,  which  there  is  reason  to  suppose  is  also  clogged. 
A  gentle  dose  of  castor-oil,  or  of  the  pills  directed  on  page 
116,  will  accomplish  this  intention;  and,  afterwards, 
measures  must  be  adopted  to  regulate  the  digestion, 
either  by  tonics  or  such  medicines  as  the  symptoms 
suggest,  but  not  by  the  constant  repetition  of  laxatives. 

Costiveness  will  sometimes  produce  such  violent  pain 
that  alarm  is  created,  and  dogs  have  been  destroyed 
under  the  idea  that  they  were  rabid.  To  guard  against 
so  fatal  a  mistake,  I  shall  only  here  say,  that  rabies  does 
not  come  on  suddenly,  or,  save  in  the  latest  stage,  appear 
i  to  influence  the  consciousness,  which  it  never  entirely 
overpowers.  The  agony  caused  by  costiveness  is  greater 
than  in  any  other  affection  to  which  the  dog  is  liable. 
Apparently  well,  and  perhaps  at  play,  a  cry  breaks 
forth,  which  is  the  next  instant  a  shriek,  expressive  of 
the  acutest  torture.  The  animal  takes  to  running,  and 
is  not  aware  of  surrounding  objects ;  it  can  recognise 
nothing,  but  will  bite  its  master  if  he  attempts  to  catch 


250  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

it,  and  hit  itself  against  anything  that  may  be  in  its  way ; 
it  scampers  from  room  to  room,  or  hurries  from  place  to 
place  ;  it  is  unable  to  be  still  or  silent ;  and  perhaps  get- 
ting into  a  corner,  it  makes  continuous  efforts  as  though 
it  wished  to  scramble  up  the  wall,  remaining  there  jump- 
ing with  all  its  strength,  and  at  the  same  time  yelling  at 
the  top  of  its  voice.  This  excitement  may  last  for  an 
hour  or  more,  and  then  cease  only  to  be  renewed :  till  at 
length  the  powers  fail,  and  in  half  a  day  the  animal  may 
be  dead.  Just  prior  to  death,  a  mass  of  compact  faeces  is 
usually  passed ;  and  blood,  with  dysentery,  is  generally 
witnessed  for  the  short  period  the  animal  survives.  After 
death,  general  inflammation  of  the  intestines  is  discovered, 
and  the  dog  is  reported  to  have  perished  from  an  attack 
of  enteritis  which  no  medicine  could  subdue. 

In  such  cases,  the  first  examination  should  be  directed 
to  the  rectum  ;  the  finger,  moistened  or  oiled,  ought  to  be 
inserted,  and  the  intestine  explored  as  thoroughly  as  pos- 
sible. This  operation  is,  however,  not  of  further  use 
than  to  confirm  the  opinion  of  the  practitioner;  and  I, 
knowing  the  cause,  therefore  dispense  with  it.  A  copious 
enema  should  be  immediately  exhibited.  One  containing 
turpentine  is  the  most  effective  ;  but,  on  account  of  its 
activity,  it  is  only  safe  in  the  beginning  of  the  attack. 
A  warm  bath  is  of  service,  but  it  takes  up  time  which 
may  be  better  employed,  and  does  not  do  sufficient  good 
to  recompense  for  the  delay.  A  full  dose  of  sulphuric 
ether  and  laudanum  should  be  given  to  allay  the  pain, 
and  it  may  with  this  intention  be  repeated  every  ten  or 


DOGS'.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  251 

twenty  minutes.  If,  from  the  enema,  nothing  follows, 
the  finger  should  then  certainly  be  introduced,  and  per- 
haps a  compact  mass  may  be  felt  firmly  grasped  by  the 
intestine.  Slowly,  and  with  great  caution,  this  must  be 
broken  up,  and  brought  away  bit  by  bit.  The  handle  of 
a  spoon  has  been  recommended  for  this  purpose,  but  I 
entreat  my  readers  not  to  use  it.  Where  pain  is  present, 
and  life  or  death  hang  on  the  issue,  there  is  no  right  to 
be  any  delicacy.  An  instrument  of  any  kind  introduced 
into  such  a  part,  and  employed  while  the  body  is  writhing 
about  in  agony,  cannot  be  free  from  danger,  and  scarcely 
can  be  s6  used  as  to  be  effective.  The  finger  is  the 
quickest,  the  most  safe,  and  the  most  effectual  instrument ; 
for  we  have  it  under  our  command,  can  guide  it  at  our 
will,  and  with  it  take  cognisance  of  all  the  circumstances 
presented.  Even  that  must  be  employed  gently,  and 
this  will  be  best  done  by  the  avoidance  of  haste.  The 
surgeon  is  bound  to  be  skilful,  but  he  ought  never  to  be 
in  a  hurry.  Let  all  the  time  that  can  be  occupied  on 
such  a  matter  be  freely  taken,  and  during  the  process,  let 
the  cries  of  the  animal  be 'attended  to ;  any  change  of 
note  will  contain  a  warning  which  must  not  be  disre- 
garded. Without  attending  to  that,  the  intestine  might 
be  ruptured,  and  death  would  then  be  certain. 

When  the  obstruction  has  been  overcome,  let  a  few- 
ethereal  enemas  be  administered  to  allay  any  local  irrita 
bility  ;  and  a  dose  of  the  purgative  pills — followed,  six 
hours  afterwards,  should  they  not  have  operated,  by  one 
of  castor-oil  mixture,  blended  with  half  a  scruple  of  chlo- 


252  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

reform — being  given  to  unload  the  csecum.  The  medi- 
cine having  acted  freely,  the  food  must  be  amended,  the 
treatment  altered,  and  such  other  measures  taken  as  the 
digestion  may  require  for  its  restoration. 


COLIC.— This  is  an  affection  to  which  dogs  are  very 
subject.  The  human  infant  is  not  more  liable  to  be  griped 
than  are  the  young  of  the  canine  species.  The  idea  of  a 
cur  with  a  belly-ache  may,  to  some  persons,  seem  to  be 
suggestive  of  fun ;  but  to  the  creature  that  suffers,  it  is 
indeed  a  serious  business.  A  duchess  with  the  spasms 
does  not  endure  so  much,  and  is  not  in  half  the  danger, 
that  a  dog  is  exposed  to  during  a  fit  of  gripes.  The  ani- 
mal must  be  relieved,  or  inflammation  will  speedily  ensue, 
and  death  will  follow.  In  some  cases,  the  appearance  of 
colic  is  almost  a  certain  indication  that  the  poor  beast  will 
die.  When  it  comes  on  a  week  or  two  prior  to  pupping, 
we  may  cure  it ;  but  during,  or  soon  after  parturition,  the 
bitch  generally  perishes.  When  it  starts  up  in  the  later 
or  more  virulent  stage  of  distemper,  especially  at  the  time 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  253 

when  the  champing  of  the  jaw  denotes  the  approach  of 
fits,  the  chance  of  a  favorable  termination  to  the  disease 
is  materially  diminished.  When  in  a  violent  form  it 
attacks  a  litter  of  puppies,  either  simultaneously  or  con- 
secutively, it  is  always  attended  with  danger.  At  no 
season,  and  under  no  circumstances,  is  it  trivial,  and 
never  ought  it  to  be  neglected.  The  cries  and  distress 
of  the  suffering  animal  will,  when  it  is  fully  established, 
enforce  attention  ;  but  too  often  it  has  then  proceeded  so 
far  that  much  medicine  will  not  check  what  in  the  first 
instance  a  single  dose  might  have  entirely  banished. 

The  symptoms  of  colic  have  been  much  confused  by 
Elaine,  who,  when  describing  them,  evidently  alludes  to 
many  forms  of  disease  with  which  abdominal  spasm  has 
no  connexion.  Youatt  is  far  more  clear ;  but  he  is  too 
concise,  and  omits  so  much  that  the  reader  does  not  pro- 
perly appreciate  the  importance  of  that  affection  which  is 
thus  slightly  mentioned.  Neither  of  the  two  authors 
seems  to  have  carefully  studied  the  subject ;  for  in  their 
writings  is  not  to  be  found  any  account  of  those  early 
symptoms  which  most  readily  yield  to  treatment. 

Prior  to  evincing  any  sign  of  colic,  the  dog  appears 
well ;  healthy  in  its  body  and  easy  in  its  mind.  The  appe- 
tite is  good,  or  may  be  better  than  usual.  The  food  has 
been  eaten  and  relished;  then  the  animal  instinctively 
lies  down  to  sleep  and  aid  digestion.  A  moan  is  heard ; 
the  sound  is  half  suppressed,  and  the  dog  that  utters  it 
appears  to  sleep.  Another  cry,  as  feeble,  but  of  greater 
length,  is  noticed ;  and  now  the  animal  that  made  it 


254  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

changes  its  position-  The  next  time  it  may  rise,  look 
round,  and  seek  another  place  ;  which  having  found,  it 
appears  to  settle  itself  and  to  go  to  sleep.  The  rest  once 
more  is  broken,  the  voice  grows  more  full  and  loud  ;  the 
dog  jumps  up  and  runs  about  for  a  little  while,  then 
selects  a  spot  where  it  curls  its  body  tightly  up,  as  if 
resolved  to  have  out  its  nap.  The  interruption,  however, 
constantly  recurs  ;  and  at  each  return  the  exclamation  is 
more  emphatic — the  starting  more  energetic — the  move- 
ment more  abrupt — and,  contrasting  these,  the  determi- 
nation or  desire  to  repose  becomes  more  strong.  Thus 
endeavoring  to  sleep,  and  being  constantly  disturbed  by 
some  sharp  and  shooting  pain,  the  dog  may  continue  for 
a  day,  or  two,  or  three,  its  cries,  during  the  whole  period, 
offending  a  neighborhood. 

During  the  continuance  of  colic,  the  general  -appear- 
ance of  the  animal  may  be  but  little  affected.  The 
eye  is  not  injected,  but  the  pupil  may  be  slightly  en- 
larged. The  nose  is  cool  and  moist,  but  towards  the 
end,  irritation  may  render  the  part  hot  or  dry.  The 
appetite  is  generally  slight — sometimes  lost;  and  fluids 
are  more  readily  accepted  than  solids.  The  cry,  how- 
ever,  should  be  remarked  ;  because,  with  the  pulse,  it 
gives  the  earliest  notice  when  inflammation  is  commenc- 
ing. While  colic  alone  exists,  the  pulse  may,  from 
pain,  be  accelerated,  and  rendered  more  full,  as  well 
as  strong,  though  not  always  to  any  marked  extent. 
In  inflammation,  the  pulse  is  greatly  quickened,  the 
artery  becomes  smaller,  and  its  beat  more  jerking  or 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  255 

wiry.  During  simple  spasm  the  voice  is  natural,  rich, 
sonorous,  and  almost  musical ;  hut  in  inflammation  it  is 
short,  harsh,  high,  and  broken,  the  exclamations  not 
being  continuous,  but  consisting  of  a  series  of  discon- 
nected "  yaps" 

For  the  treatment,  in  the  first  instance,  a  turpentine 
enema  will  frequently  cut  short  the  attack.  Should  it 
fail  to  so,  injections  of  ether  and  laudanum  should  suc- 
ceed, and  doses  of  the  mixture  should  also  be  given 
every  half  hour  ;  the  first  three  being  exhibited  at  in- 
tervals only  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  each.  The  cathar- 
tic pills  should  be  administered  ;  and  in  three  hours,  if 
the  bowels  have  not  been  acted  upon,  a  dose  of  castor- 
oil  should  be  resorted  to  ;  but  where  the  cathartic  has 
been  responded  to,  the  castor-oil  should  be  delayed  for 
eight  or  twelve  hours. 

When  the  pain  ceases,  the  ether  and  laudanum  should 
not  be  immediately  discontinued  ;  but  they  may  be  em- 
ployed at  longer  intervals,  and  gradually  reduced  in 
quantity,  until  the  bowels  are  thoroughly  opened,  when 
they  may  be  withheld.  Under  this  treatment,  the  af- 
fection is  rarely  fatal,  and  never  so  if  taken  in  time. 
An  injection  of  ether  and  laudanum  should  always  be 
given  to  any  pup  that  exhibits  even  the  slightest  symp- 
tom of  uneasiness.  I  have  never  known  it  to  do  harm, 
but  I  am  convinced  it  has  often  prevented  danger. 

In  those  cases  where  purging  and  other  indications 
denote  the  coats  of  the  bowels  to  be  already  involved, 
and  spasm  co-exists  with  enteritis,  ether  and  laudanum 


256  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

must  enter  into  all  the  remedies  employed.  On  the 
dog  their  action  is,  in  my  opinion,  always  beneficial  j 
and  were  they  not  directly  so,  the  influence  they  pos- 
sess in  deadening  pain  would  be  sufficient  reason  to 
justify  their  adoption.  The  other  measures  consist  of 
such  as  will  be  found  mentioned  under  the  head  of  ente- 
ritis ;  but  it  is  essential  to  observe  any  faeces  which 
may  be  ejected  by  the  animal  that  has  suffered  colic ; 
for  by  these  we  may  sometimes  guess  the  cause  of  the 
attack,  and  more  often  learn  the  means  through  which 
a  return  may  be  prevented. 

As  to  the  causes  which  induce  colic,  I  can  of  my 
own  knowledge  offer  no  information.  It  has  to  me 
seemed  to  be  regulated  by  none  of  those  circumstances 
to  which  it  is  generally  attributed ;  at  all  events,  I  think 
I  have  witnessed  it  in  animals  which  have  not  been 
exposed  to  any  of  the  causes  that  teachers  and  writers 
assert  induce  it.  Dogs  are,  however,  brought  to  us  only 
when  the  cause  has  ceased ;  for  we  are  sought  for  only 
to  treat  the  effect.  The  declarations  of  authors  may 
therefore  be  correct,  although  I  am  unable  to  corrobo- 
rate them  ;  and  these  gentlemen  say  colic  is  produced 
by  cold,  acrid  food,  chills,  worms,  hard  water,  &c.  In 
cases  of  this  kind,  therefore,  it  may  be  well  to  inquire 
if  the  dog  has  been  exposed,  or  badly  fed,  or  is  in  any 
way  unhealthy ;  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to  rectify  these 
matters ;  for,  even  though  they  may  not  have  provoked 
the  spasm,  nevertheless  we  shall  do  good  by  attending 
to  the  health,  diet,  and  comfort  of  the  animal. 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  257 

ENTERITIS. — The  doom  of  the  dog  which  is  really 
afflicted  with  this  disease,  is  generally  sealed.  It  is  a 
painful  and  a  fatal  disorder — equally  rapid  and  stub- 
born. I  fear  it  more  than  any  other  affection  to  which 
the  animal  is  subject,  and  more  frequently  than  any 
other  has  it  set  my  best  endeavors  at  defiance. 

In  the  dog,  however,  enteritis  is  rarely  seen  in  a  pure 
form.  The  mucous  membrane  of  the  intestines  is  mostly 
inflamed,  but  the  serous  covering,  as  a  general  rule,  is 
in  no  degree  involved.  The  stomach,  however,  is  almost 
in  every  instance  more  or  less  implicated  ;  its  inner  sur- 
face being  inflamed,  and  its  muscular  coat  so  contracted, 
that  the  lining  membrane  is  corrugated,  and  remains  in 
that  condition  after  death. 

The  incentives  are,  unwholesome  food,  which  is  the 
most  frequent  of  the  causes ;  exposure,  especially  after 
a  dog  has  been  in  winter  fantastically  deprived  of  its 
long  hair  over  the  loins  ;  and  over-exertion,  to  which  the 
dog  is  often  exposed,  no  attention  being  paid  to  its  con- 
dition. Anything  which  disorders  the  digestion,  or  vio- 
lently shakes  the  constitution,  will  induce  it ;  for  in  the 
dog  every  species  of  revulsion  has  a  tendency  to  attack 
the  bowels.  Mange  improperly  treated  has  produced  it ; 
and  this  may  be  said  of  almost  any  skin  disease  ;  so 
that  it  has  been  caused  not  by  true  mange  or  itch  alone 
but  by  a  skin  disease  having  been,  under  the  pretence 
of  working  an  immediate  cure,  driven  into  the  system. 
Neglected  impactments,  or  colic,  are  among  its  most  fre- 
quent immediate  causes ;  for  at  least  three  parts  of  those 


258  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

cases  of  enteritis  submitted  to  my  notice,  have  been 
clearly  traced  to  have  commenced  with  something  of 
that  kind. 

Of  the  symptoms  of  enteritis,  colic  and  constipation, 
with  a  hard  thin  pulse,  are  the  most  prominent.  Sick- 
ness is  not  present,  or  rather  I  have  not  witnessed  it,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  disorder.  The  extremities 
are  cold — the  eye  has  a  stupid  expression,  the  pupil  being 
much  dilated — the  breath  is  hot,  and  the  nose  dry.  The 
tail  is  drawn  firmly  downward,  and  pressed  upon  the 
anus  ;  the  urine  is  sometimes  scanty,  always  high-color- 
ed ;  the  tongue  is  rough  and  clammy,  the  thirst  strong, 
and  the  appetite  lost.  The  dog  seeks  darkness  and  pri- 
vacy, and  does  not  ramble  during  the  early  stage  ;  it  will 
stretch  itself  out  either  upon  its  belly  or  on  its  side,  and 
I  have  not  seen  it  sit  upon  its  haunches.  The  abdomen 
is  only  of  the  heat  of  the  body,  which  is  generally  of  an 
increased  temperature.  Pressure  appears  to  cause  no 
pain,  and  the  animal  rather  seems  grateful  for  friction  than 
to  resist  it.  As  the  disease  proceeds,  diarrhoea  ensues, 
and  with  it  the  signs  of  exhaustion  and  death  generally 
are  exhibited.  Throughout  the  attack  there  is  a  marked 
disinclination  to  take  any  remedy ;  which  is  not  always 
displayed  by  these  creatures,  and  in  no  other  disease  is 
so  violently  exhibited.  Dogs  often  become  attached  to 
those  who  minister  to  their  complaints  ;  many  of  them 
will  appear  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  motives  of 
him  who  attempts  their  relief.  The  poor  things  will  fre- 
quently submit  to  operations,  and  lick  the  hand  which 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  259 

has  performed  them.  Eloquent  are  the  appeals  which 
they  sometimes  make  to  the  feelings  of  one  in  whom  they 
have  placed  their  confidence  ;  often  staggering  to  meet 
him  when  he  enters  ;  looking  upward  into  his  face,  and 
uttering  low  cries,  which  are  more  expressive  than  words 
could  possibly  be  rendered.  He  who  has  had  much  to 
do  with  dogs  must,  if  he  be  not  insensible,  grow  to  like 
them,  and  gradually  learn  to  think  these  creatures  pos- 
sess both  knowledge  and  reason.  They  will  sometimes, 
without  a  struggle,  swallow  the  most  pungent  and  nau- 
seous drinks  ;  but  such  is  not  the  case  during  enteritis. 
The  brain  in  that  disease  is  always  sympathetically  af- 
fected .  the  state  of  the  eye,  its  peculiar  expression  and 
dilated  pupil,  denote  the  fact ;  and  the  manner  of  the 
dog  would,  without  these  indications,  lead  us  to  surmise 
the  circumstance. 

The  treatment  must  be  energetic.  The  sharp,  short 
cries,  characteristic  of  enteritis,  as  pointed  out  in  the  pre- 
ceding description  of  colic,  will  be  sufficient  warning  of 
the  danger,  and  ample  intimation  that  there  is  no  time  to 
be  lost.  A  turpentine  enema  should  be  injected.  The 
treatment  ought  always  to  begin  with  this,  for  to  unload 
the  rectum  is  of  all  importance.  Afterwards,  from  one 
to  four  grains  of  calomel,  with  from  half  a  grain  to  two 
grains  of  opium,  should  be  shaken  upon  the  tongue  ;  and 
when  ten  minutes  have  elapsed,  a  draught  of  ether  arid 
laudanum  and  water,  with  an  injection  of  the  same  com- 
position, ought  to  be  exhibited.  While  the  cries  last,  the 
ether  may  be  continued,  and  when  the  strength  appears 


260  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

to  fail,  it  may  also  be  employed.  Two  hours  subsequent 
to  the  calomel  being  given,  from  half  an  ounce  to  three 
ounces  of  castor-oil,  diluted  with  half  the  quantity  of 
olive-oil,  should  be  used  as  a  drench  ;  and  thrice  during 
the  day  the  following  may  be  administered  either  as  a 
pill  or  draught,  in  thick  gruel,  soup,  or  mucilage,  at  the 
option  of  the  practitioner  ;  who  will,  of  course,  be  guided 
by  the  disposition  of  the  patient,  which  in  every  particu- 
lar must  be  considered  : — 

Grey  powder    ....     Five  grains  to  a  scruple. 
Powdered  ipecacuanha  .     Half  a  grain  to  four  grains. 
Extract  of  hyoscyamus  .     One  to  eight  grains. 

Bleeding  is  of  some  service,  but  the  dog  so  quickly 
sinks,  that  it  must  be  practised  with  caution.  On  this 
account,  as  well  as  for  other  reasons,  leeches  are  to  be 
preferred.  If  the  patient  be  a  male,  they  may  be  applied 
to  the  belly  ;  but  if  a  female,  the  side  of  the  abdomen 
must  be  shaven,  and  that  part  selected.  From  four  to 
twenty-four  leeches  will  be  sufficient ;  and  half  that  num- 
ber may  be  again  used  if  no  change  for  the  better  is  ob- 
served, and  the  strength  does  not  fail.  Stimulating 
applications  are  likewise  beneficial.  A  large  mustard 
poultice  has  appeared  to  be  more  operative  than  more 
violent  agents.  After  it  has  been  removed,  warm  fomen- 
tations of  water,  with  occasional  ones  of  hot  turpentine, 
may  be  employed. 

In  the  early  stage,  a  warm  bath  of  90  degrees,  for 
half  an  hour,  has  been  used  with  advantage ;  but  the  ani- 


DOGS!     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  261 

mal,  when  removed  from  it,  must  be  wrapped  well  up  in 
several  hot  blankets,  and  kept  in  them  until  it  is  perfectly- 
dry. 

On  the  second  day  from  two  to  ten  drops  of  the  tinc- 
ture of  arnica,  with  half  a  drachm  of  the  solution  of  the 
chloride  of  zinc,  may  be  added  to  the  ethereal  drinks  and 
injections,  if  the  disorder  has  not  been  checked  ;  and 
beef-tea,  thickened  with  rice,  may  also  be  frequently 
administered,  using  it  instead  of  water,  both  in  the 
draughts  and  injections.  No  other  food  is  admissible, 
and  the  return  to  solids  must,  if  the  animal  survives,  be 
very  gradual. 

DYSENTERY  AND  DIARRHOEA. — These  diseases,  which 
in  works  on  human  pathology  are  advantageously  sepa- 
ratedj  I  cannot  here  treat  of  as  distinct  disorders.  In 
the  dog  they  are  so  connected  and  blended  that  the  line 
which  divides  them  cannot  be  discovered ;  and  for  every 
practical  purpose,  they  may  be  here  considered  as  one 
and  the  same  affection. 

The  young  and  the  old  are  most  liable  to  these  com- 
plaints. Puppies  are  very  subject,  as  also  are  aged  gross 
favorites ;  things  so  fat  that  it  becomes  hard  work  to 
live  are  very  generally  attacked  with  diarrhoea.  The 
pup,  however,  usually  exhibits  it  in  the  acute  form, 
whereas  in  the  other  description  of  animal  it  mostly  ap- 
pears in  the  chronic  type. 

When  acute,  colic  may  accompany  or  precede  it.  In 
proportion  to  the  spasm  will  be  the  violence  and  the  dan- 
ger of  the  disorder.  Sickness  is  mostly  witnessed  a  little 


262  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

time  prior  to  the  attack,  and  the  matter  vomited  has  a 
peculiarly  disagreeable  and  acrid  odor.  The  dog  does 
not  again  consume  that  which  the  stomach  has  thrown 
off,  but  sneaks  away  dejected,  and  afterwards  seems  dull. 
Sickness  will  occasionally  continue  throughout  the  com- 
plaint, but  in  general  it  departs  as  the  disease  appears. 
Thirst,  however,  is  always  present ;  and  there  is  also  a 
disposition  to  seek  cold  things  and  places.  The  pulse  is 
quicker,  but  not  stronger,  and  hardly  at  first  less  thin 
than  during  health.  There  is  no  pain  on  pressure  being 
applied  to  the  abdomen.  The  membranes  of  the  eye  are 
not  injected ;  they  may  be  a  little  deeper  in  color  than  is 
strictly  natural,  but  occasionally  they  are  the  reverse. 
If,  however,  the  anus  be  gently  forced  open,  so  as  to  ex- 
pose the  terminating  surface  of  the  rectum,  the  mem- 
brane there  will  be  found  more  red,  and  perhaps  less 
clear  in  tint,  than  it  ought  to  be  ;  and  the  presence  of 
purgation,  attended  with  a  violent  resistance  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  clysters,  will  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the 
character  of  the  affection. 

In  the  chronic  form,  the  membrane  of  the  eye  is  pal- 
lid ;  the  nose  often  moist ;  the  breath  offensive ;  the 
appetite  ravenous  ;  the  pulse  quick  and  weak ;  the  anus 
inflamed  ;  mostly  protruding,  and  usually  disfigured  by 
piles ;  the  fasces  liquid,  and  of  various  hues  ;  sometimes 
black,  occasionally  lighter  than  usual,  very  generally 
mixed  with  much  mucus  and  a  small  quantity  of  blood, 
so  that  the  leading  symptoms  are  those  of  weakness, 
accompanied  with  purgation. 


DOGS  t    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  263 


BUPEBPUBGATION. 


Acute  diarrhoea  may  terminate  in  twenty  -four  hours  ; 
the  chronic  may  continue  as  many  days.  The  first 
sometimes  closes  with  hemorrhage,  blood  in  large  quan- 
tities being  ejected,  either  from  the  mouth  or  from  the 
anus  ;  but  more  generally  death  ensues  from  apparent 
exhaustion,  which  is  announced  by  coldness  of  the  belly 
and  mouth,  attended  with  a  peculiar  faint  and  sickly 
fetor  and  perfect  insensibility.  The  chronic  more  rarely 
ends  with  excessive  bleeding,  but  almost  always  gradu- 
ally wears  out  the  animal,  which  for  days  previous  may 
be  paralysed  in  the  hind  extremities,  lying  with  its  back 
arched  and  its  feet  approximated,  though  consciousness 
is  retained  almost  to  the  last  moment.  In  either  case, 
however,  the  characteristic  stench  prevails,  and  the  lower 
surface  of  the  abdomen,  as  a  general  rule,  feels  hard, 
presenting  to  the  touch  two  distinct  lines,  which  run  in 
the  course  of  the  spine.  These  lines,  which  Youatt 
mentions  as  cords,  are  the  recti  muscles,  which  in  the 
dog  are  composed  of  continuous  fibre,  and  consequently, 


264  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

when  contracted  under  the  stimulus  of  pain  or  disease, 
become  very  apparent. 

On  examination  after  death,  the  stomach,  especially 
towards  the  pylqric  orifice,  is  inflamed,  as  are  the  intes- 
tines, which,  however,  towards  the  middle  of  the  track, 
are  less  violently  affected  than  at  other  parts.  The  crecum 
is  enlarged,  and  may  even,  while  all  the  other  guts  are 
empty,  contain  hard  solid  faeces.  The  rectum  is  generally 
black  with  inflammation,  and  seems  most  to  suffer  in  these 
disorders.  Occasionally  its  interior  is  ulcerated,  and  such 
is  nearly  always  its  condition  towards  the  anus.  Signs 
of  colic  are  distributed  along  the  entire  length  of  the  ali- 
mentary tubes. 

In  the  acute  disease,  the  case  in  the  first  instance 
should  be  treated  as  directed  for  colic,  with  turpentine 
enema  and  ether,  laudanum  and  water,  followed  by  mild 
doses  of  grey  powder  and  ipecacuanha,  or  chalk,  catechu 
and  aromatics,  in  the  proportions  directed  below  : — 

Powdered  opium  ....  Half  a  grain  to  two  grains. 

Powdered  prepared  chalk  .  Five  grains  to  a  scruple. 

Catechn Two  grains  to  half  a  scruple. 

Liquor  potassae      ....  Half-a-drachm  to  two  drachms. 

Powdered  ginger  ....  Three  to  twelve  grains. 

Powdered  caraways ,     .     .  Three  to  twelve  grains. 

Powdered  capsicums .     .     .  One  to  four  grains. 

This  may  be  given  every  second  hour.  The  carbonate 
of  ammonia,  from  two  to  eight  grains,  is  also  deserving  of 
a  trial,  as  are  the  chlorides  and  chlorates  when  the  odor 
is  perceived 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  265 

Applications,  as  before  directed,  to  the  abdomen  are 
also  beneficial ;  but  frequent  use  of  tbe  warm  bath  should 
be  forbidden,  for  its  action  is  far  too  debilitating.  The 
ether,  laudanum,  and  water  should  be  persisted  with 
throughout  the  treatment,  and  hope  may  be  indulged  so 
long  as  the  injections  are  retained  <  but  when  these  are 
cast  back,  or  flow  out  as  soon  as  the  pipe  is  removed,  the 
case  may  be  pronounced  a  desperate  one. 

In  the  chronic  form  of  diarrhoea  there  is  always  greater 
prospect  of  success.  Ether,  laudanum,  and  water  will 
often  master  it,  without  the  addition  of  any  other  medi- 
cine ;  but  the  liquor  potassae  and  the  chalk  preparation 
are  valuable  adjuncts.  To  the  anus  an  ointment  will  be 
useful ;  and  it  should  not  only  be  smeared  well  over  the 
part,  but,  by  means  of  a  penholder  or  the  little  finger,  a 
small  quantity  should  thrice  in  the  course  of  the  day  be 
introduced  up  the  rectum.  For  this  purpose  the  follow- 
ing will  be  found  to  answer  much  better  than  any  of 
those  which  Elaine  orders  to  be  employed  on  similar 
occasions : — 


Camphor  powdered   .     .      ) 

Mercurial  ointment    .     .      >  Of  each  equal  parts. 

Elder  ointment ....      ) 


Cleanliness  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Thrice  daily, 
or  oftener  if  necessary,  the  anus  and  root  of  the  tail 
should  be  thoroughly  cleansed,  with  a  wash  consisting  of 
an  ounce  of  the  solution  of  chloride  of  zinc  to  a  pint  of 
distilled  water  The  food  should  be  generous  ;  but  fluid 

12 


266  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

beef  tea,  thickened  with  rice,  will    constitute  the  most 
proper  diet  during  the  existence  of  diarrhoea. 

A  little  gravy  and  rice  with  scraped  meat  may  be  gra- 
dually introduced ;  but  the  dog  must  be  drenched  with 
the  liquid  rather  than  indulged  with  solids  at  too  early  a 
period.  All  the  other  measures  necessary  have  been 
indicated  when  treating  of  previous  abdominal  diseases, 
and  such  rules  is  are  therein  laid  down  must,  according 
to  the  circumstances,  be  applied. 

PERITONITIS. — In  the  acute  form  this  disease  is  rarely 
witnessed,  save  as  accompanying  or  following  parturi- 
tion. Its  symptoms  are,  panting  ;  restlessness ;  occasional 
cries  ;  a  desire  for  cold ;  constant  stretching  forth  at  full 
length  upon  the  side  ;  dry  mouth  and  nose ;  thirst ;  con- 
stipation ;  hard  quick  pulse ;  catching  breathing,  and — 
contrary  as  it  may  be  to  all  reasonable  expectation — 
seldom  any  pain  on  pressure  to  the  abdomen,  toward 
which,  however,  the  animal  constantly  inclines  the 
head. 

The  treatment  consists  in  bleeding  from  the  jugular, 
from  three  to  twelve  ounces  being  taken  ;  but  a  pup,  not 
having  all  its  permanent  teeth,  supposing  such  an  animal 
could  be  affected,  should  not  lose  more  than  from  half- 
an-ounce  to  two  ounces.  Stimulating  applications  to  the 
abdomen  should  be  employed,  an  ammoniacal  blister, 
from  its  speedy  action,  being  to  be  preferred.  Ether, 
laudanum,  and  water  ought  to  be  given,  to  allay  the 
pain,  with  calomel  in  small  but  repeated  doses,  com- 
bined with  one-fourth  its  weight  of  opium,  in  order  to 
iubdue  the  inflammation.  A  turpentine  enema  to  unload 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  267 

the  rectum,  and  a  full  dose  of  castor  oil  to  relieve  the 
bowels,  should  be  administered  early  in  the  disease. 
The  warm  bath,  if  the  animal  is  after  it  well  wrapped 
up,  may  also  be  resorted  to.  A  second  bleeding  may  be 
necessary,  but  it  should  always  be  by  means  of  leeches, 
and  should  only  be  practised  upon  conviction  of  its  ne- 
cessity, for  no  animal  is  less  tolerant  of  blood-letting 
than  the  dog. 

During  peritonitis,  the  chief  aim  of  all  the  measures 
adopted  is  to  reduce  the  inflammation  ;  but  while  this  is 
kept  in  view,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  of  equal,  or 
perhaps  of  even  more,  importance,  is  it  to  subdue  the  pain 
and  lessen  the  constitutional  irritation  which  adds  to  the 
energy  of  the  disorder,  thus  rendering  nature  the  less 
capable  of  sustaining  it.  With  this  object  I  have  often 
carried  ether,  laudanum,  and  water,  so  far  as  to  narco- 
tise the  animal;  and  I  have  kept  the  dog  under  the 
action  of  these  medicines  for  twelve  hours,  and  then 
have  not  entirely  relinquished  them.  The  consequence 
has  not  always  been  success,  but  I  have  not  seen  any 
reason  to  imagine  that  the  life  has  not  been  lengthened 
by  the  practice  ;  and  sometimes  when  the  narcotism  has 
ceased,  the  disease  has  exhibited  so  marked  an  improve- 
ment, that  I  have  dated  the  recovery  from  that  period. 

STRANGULATION. — This  consists  in  the  intestines  being 
twisted  or  tied  together,  and  it  is  caused  by  sudden  emo- 
tion or  violent  exertion.  From  it  the  dog  is  almost  ex- 
empt, though  to  it  some  other  animals  are  much  exposed. 
The  symptoms  are  sudden  pain,  resembling  acute  ente- 
ritis, accompanied  with  sickness  and  constipation,  and 


268  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

terminating  in  the  lethargic  ease  which  characterises 
mortification. 

No  treatment  can  save  the  life,  and  all  the  measures 
justifiable  are  such  as  would  alleviate  the  sufferings  of 
the  animal ;  but  as,  in  the  majority  of  these  cases,  the 
fact  is  only  ascertained  after  death,  the  practitioner  must 
in  a  great  measure  be  guided  by  the  symptoms. 

INTROSUSCEPTION. — This  is  when  a  portion  of  intes- 
tine slips  into  another  part  of  the  alimentary  tube,  and 
there  becomes  fixed.  Colic  always  precedes  this,  for 
the  accident  could  not  occur  unless  the  bowel  was  in 
places  spasmodically  contracted.  The  symptoms  are — 
colic,  in  the  first  instance,  speedily  followed  by  enteritis, 
accompanied  by  a  seeming  constipation,  that  resists  all 
purgatives,  and  prevails  up  to  the  moment  of  death. 
The  measures  would  be  the  same  as  were  alluded  to 
when  writing  of  strangulation. 

STOPPAGE. — To  this  the  dog  is  much  exposed.  These 
animals  are  taught  to  run  after  sticks  or  stones,  and  to 
bring  them  to  their  masters.  When  this  trick  has  been 
learnt,  the  creatures  are  very  fond  of  displaying  their 
accomplishment.  They  engage  in  the  game  with  more 
than  pleasure ;  and  as  no  living  being  is  half  so  enthusi- 
astic as  dogs,  they  throw  their  souls  into  the  simple 
sport.  Delighted  to  please  their  lords,  the  animals  are 
in  a  fever  of  excitement ;  they  back  and  run  about — 
their  eyes  on  fire,  and  every  muscle  of  their  frames  in 
motion.  The  stone  is  flung,  and  away  goes  the  dog  at  its 
topmost  speed,  so  happy  that  it  has  lost  its  self-coin- 


DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  269 

mand.  If  the  missile  should  be  small,  the  poor  animal, 
in  its  eagerness  to  seize,  may  unfortunately  swallow  it, 
and  when  that  happens,  the  faithful  brute  nearly  always 
dies.  The  oesophagus  or  gullet  of  the  dog  is  larger  than 
its  intestines,  and  consequently  the  substance  which  can 
pass  down  the  throat  may  in  the  guts  become  impacted. 
Such  too  frequently  follows  when  stones  are  gulped  ; 
for  hard  things  of  this  kind,  though  they  should  be  small 
enough  to  pass  through  the  alimentary  tube,  neverthe- 
less would  cause  a  stoppage ;  for  a  foreign  body  of  any 
size,  by  irritating  the  intestine,  would  provoke  it  to  con- 
tract, or  induce  spasm  ;  and  the  bowel  thus  excited 
would  close  upon  the  substance,  retaining  it  with  a  force 
which  could  not  be  overcome.  Persons,  therefore,  who 
like  their  dogs  to  fetch  and  carry,  should  never  use  for 
this  purpose  any  pebble  so  small  as  to  be  dangerous,  or 
rather,  they  should  never  use  stones  of  any  kind  for  this 
purpose.  The  animal  taught  to  indulge  in  this  amuse- 
ment seriously  injures  its  teeth,  which  during  the  excite- 
ment are  employed  with  imprudent  violence,  and  the 
mouth  sustains  more  injury  than  the  game  can  recom- 
pense. 

If  a  dog  should  swallow  a  stone,  let  the  animal  be 
immediately  fed  largely;  half-an-hour  afterwards  let 
thrice  the  ordinary  dose  of  antimonial  wine  be  adminis- 
tered, and  the  animal  directly  afterwards  be  exercised. 
Probably  the  pebble  may  be  returned  with  the  food  when 
the  emetic  acts.  Should  such  not  be  the  case,  as  the  dog 
will  not  eat  again,  all  the  thick  gruel  it  can  be  made  to 


270  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

swallow  must  be  forced  upon  it,  and  perhaps  the  stone 
may  come  away  when  this  is  vomited.  Every  effort  must 
be  used  to  cause  the  substance  to  be  ejected  before  it  has 
reached  the  bowels,  since  if  it  enters  these,  the  doom  is 
sealed.  However,  should  such  be  the  case,  the  most  vio- 
lent and  potent  antispasmodics  may  be  tried ;  and  under 
their  influence  I  have  known  comparatively  large  bodies 
to  pass.  No  attempt  must  be  made  to  quicken  the  passage 
by  moulding  or  kneading  the  belly  ;  much  less  must  any 
effort  be  used  intended  to  push  the  substance  onward. 
The  convolutions  of  the  alimentary  track  are  numerous, 
and  the  bowels  are  not  stationary ;  therefore  we  have  no 
certainty,  even  if  the  violence  should  do  no  injury,  that 
our  interference  would  be  properly  directed.  Hope  must 
depend  upon  antispasmodics ;  while  every  measure  is 
taken  to  anticipate  the  irritation  which  is  almost  certain 
to  follow. 

Stoppage  may  be  caused  by  other  things  besides 
stones.  Corks,  pins,  nails,  skewers,  sharp  pieces  of  bone, 
particularly  portions  of  game  and  poultry  bones,  have 
produced  death  ;  and  this  fact  will  serve  to  enforce  the 
warning  which  was  given  in  the  earlier  portion  of  this 
work. 

PARALYSIS    OF  THE    HIND    EXTREMITIES. 

IT  appears  odd  to  speak  of  such  an  affliction  as  loss  of 
all  motor  power  in  the  hind  extremities,  connected  with 
deranged  bowels.  What  can  the  stomach  have  to  do 
with  the  legs  1  Why,  all  and  everything.  That  which 


DOGS  *.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  27 1 

is  put  into  the  stomach,  nourishes  the  legs,  and  that  which 
enters  the  same  receptacle,  may  surely  disease  the  like 
parts.      That   which    nurtures   health,    and   that   which 
generates  sickness,  are  more  closely  allied  than  we  are 
willing  to  allow.     Thus,  a  moderate  meal  nourishes  and 
refreshes ;  but  the  same  food  taken  in  too  great  abun- 
dance, as  surely  will  bring  disease ;  and  it  is  of  too  much 
food   that  I   have  to  complain,  when    I    speak  of  the 
bowels-  as  associated  with  paralysis.     Dogs  will  become 
great  gluttons.      They  like  to  do  what  they  see  their 
master  doing;    but  as  a  dog's  repast  comes  round  but 
once  a  day,  and  a  human  being  eats  three  or  four  times 
in  the  twenty -four  hours,  so  has  the  animal  kept  within 
doors  so  many  additional  opportunities  of  over-gorging 
itself.    Nor  is  this  all.    The  canine  appetite  is  soon  satis- 
fied ;  the  meal  is  soon  devoured.     But  it  is  far  otherwise 
with  the  human  repast.     The  dog  may  consume  enough 
provender  in  a  few  minutes  to  last  till  the  following  day 
comes  round  ;  whereas  the  man  cannot  get  through  the 
food  which  is  to  support  him  for  six  hours,  in  less  than 
half  a  division  of  the  time  here  enumerated.     Supposing 
one  or  two  persons  to  be  seated  at  table,  it  is  very  hard 
to  withstand  a  pair  of  large,  eloquent,  and  imploring  eyes, 
watching  every  mouthful  the  fork  lifts  from  the  plate. 
For  a  minute  or  two  it  may  be  borne ;  but  to  hold  out  an 
entire  hour  is  more  than  human  fortitude  is  capable  of.  A 
bit  is  thrown  to  the  poor  dog  that  looks  so  very  hungry ; 
it  is  eaten  quickly,  and  then  the  eyes  are  at  work  again. 
Perhaps  the  other  end  of  the  board  is  tried,  and  the  appeal 


272  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

is  enforced  with  the  supplicatory  whine  that  seldom  fails, 
Piece  after  piece  is  thereby  extracted ;  and  dogs  fed  in 
this  fashion  will  eat  much  more  than  if  the  whole  were 
placed  before  them  at  one  time.  The  animal  becomes 
enormously  fat,  and  then  one  day  is  found  by  the  mis- 
tress with  its  legs  dragging  after  it.  The  lady  inquires 
which  of  the  servants  have  been  squeezing  the  dog  in 
the  door.  All  deny  that  they  have  been  so  amusing  them- 
selves, and  every  one  protests  that  she  had  not  heard 
poor  Fanny  cry.  The  mistress'  wrath  is  by  no  means 
allayed.  Servants  are  so  careless — such  abominable 
liars — and  the  poor  dog  was  no  favorite  down  stairs. 
Thereupon  Fanny  is  wrapped  in  a  couple  of  shawls,  and 
despatched  to  the  nearest  veterinary  surgeon.  . 

If  the  gentleman  who  may  be  consulted  knows  his 
business,  he  returns  for  answer,  "  The  dog  is  too  fat," 
and  must  for  the  future  be  fed  more  sparingly — that  it 
has  been  squeezed  in  no  door — that  none  of  the  vertebrae 
are  injured,  but  the  animal  is  suffering  from  an  attack  of 
paralysis.  He  sends  some  physic  to  be  given,  and  some 
embrocation  to  rub  on  the  back.  The  mistress  is  by  no 
means  satisfied.  She  protests  the  man's  a  fool — declares 
she  alone  knows  the  truth— but,  despite  her  knowledge, 
does  as  the  veterinary  surgeon  ordered.  Under  the 
treatment  the  dog  recovers ;  after  which  every  one 
feeds  it,  and  everybody  accuses  the  other  of  doing  that 
which  the  doctor  said  was  not  to  be  done.  At  length  the 
animal  has  a  second  visitation,  which  is  more  slowly 
removed  than  was  the  first ;  but  it  at  last  yields ;  till  the 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT,  273 

third  attack  comes,  with  which  the  poor  beast  is  gene- 
rally destroyed  as  incurable. 

These  dogs,  when  brought  to  us,  usually  appear  easy 
and  well  to  do  in  the  world.  The  coats  are  sleek ;  their 
eyes  are  placid ;  and  the  extremities  alone  want  motion, 
which  rather  seems  to  surprise  the  animal  than  to  occa- 
sion it  any  immediate  suffering.  They  have  no  other 
obvious  disease  ;  but  the  malignity  of  their  ailments  seems 
fixed  or  concentrated  on  the  affection  which  is  present. 
The  first  attack  is  soon  conquered.  A  few  cathartic 
pills,  followed  by  castor-oil,  prepared  as  recommended  in 
this  work  (page  116),  will  soon  unload  the  bowels, 
and  clear  out  the  digestive  canal.  They  must  be  con- 
tinued until,  and  after,  the  paralysis  has  departed.  At 
the  same  time,  some  stimulating  embrocation  must  be 
employed  to  the  back,  belly,  and  hind-legs,  which  must 
be  well  rubbed  with  it  four  times  daily,  or  the  oftener  the 
better.  Soap  liniment,  as  used  by  Veterinarians,  ren- 
dered more  stimulating  by  an  additional  quantity  of 
liquor  ammonise,  will  answer  very  well;  more  good  being 
done  by  the  friction  than  by  the  agent  employed.  The 
chief  benefit  sought  by  the  rubbing,  is  to  restore  the  cir- 
culation, and  so  bring  back  feeling  with  motion,  for  both 
are  lost ;  a  pin  run  into  the  legs  produces  no  effort  to 
retract  the  limb,  nor  any  sign  of  pain. 

Th?  cure  is  certain, — and  so  is  the  second  attack,  if 

the  feeding  be  persisted  in  ;  unless  nature  seeks  and  finds 

relief  in  skin  disease,  canker,  piles,  or  one  of  the  many 

consequences    induced   by    over-feeding.      The    second 

12* 


274  DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

attack  mostly  yields  to  treatment.  The  third  is  less  cer- 
tain, and  so  is  each  following  visitation  ;  the  chances  of 
restoration  being  remote,  just  in  proportion  as  the  assault 
is  removed  from  the  original  affliction. 


DISEASES    ATTENDANT    ON    DISORDERED    BOWELS. 


RHEUMATISM. 


IT  appears  almost  laughable  to  talk  about  a  rheumatic 
dog;  but,  in  fact,  the  animal  suffers  quite  as,  or  even 
more  acutely  than  the  human  patient,  and  both  from  the 
same  cause — 


ACUTE    RHEUMATISM. 


over-indulgence;  still  with  this  difference — the  man 
usually  suffers  from  attachment  to  the  bottle ;  the  dog 
endures  its  misery  from  devotion  to  roaming  under  the 
table.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  sight  to  behold  an  animal 
so  fat  that  it  can  hardly  waddle,  without  scruple  enjoying 
its  five  meals  a  day ;  which  it  takes  with  a  bloated  mis- 
tress, who,  according  to  her  own  account,  is  kept  alive 
with  the  utmost  difficulty  by  eating  little  and  often. 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  27o 

The  dog,  I  say,  looks  for  its  lady's  tray  with  regularity, 
besides  having  its  own  personal  meal,  and  a  bone  or  two 
to  indulge  any  odd  craving  between  whiles.  These 
spoiled  animals  are,  for  the  most  part,  old  and  bad  tem- 
pered. They  would  bite,  but  they  have  no  teeth,  and 
yet  they  will  wrathfully  mumble  the  hand  they  are  una- 
ble to  injure ;  while  the  doting  mistress,  in  alarm  for  her 
favorite,  sits  upon  the  sofa  entreating  the  beast  may  not 
be  hurt :  begging  for  pity,  as  though  it  were  for  her  own 
life  she  were  pleading.  The  animal  during  this  is  being 
followed  from  under  table  to  chair,  growling  and  barking 
all  the  time ;  and  showing  every  disposition,  if  it  had  but 
ability,  to  do  you  some  grievous  bodily  harm.  At  length, 
after  a  chase  that  has  nearly  caused  the  fond  mistress  to 
faint  and  you  to  exhaust  all  patience,  the  poor  brute  is 
overtaken  and  caught ;  but  no  sooner  does  your  hand 
touch  the  miserable  beast,  than  it  sets  up  a  howl  fit  to 
alarm  the  neighborhood.  On  this  the  hand  is  moved  from 
the  neck  to  the  belly,  intending  to  raise  the  dog  from  the 
ground ;  but  the  howl  thereon  is  changed  to  a  positive 
scream,  when  the  mistress  starts  up,  declaring  she  can 
bear  no  more.  On  this  you  desist,  to  ask  a  few  ques- 
tions :  "  The  dog  has  often  called  out  in  that  manner?  " 
"  O  yes."  "  And  has  done  so,  no  one  being  near  or 
touching  it  ?  "  "  O  yes,  when  quite  alone."  Thereupon 
you  request  the  mistress  to  call  the  animal  to  her ;  and  it 
waddles  across  the  carpet,  every  member  stiff,  its  back 
arched,  and  its  neck  set,  but  the  eye  fixed  upon  the  per- 
son who  has  been  called  in. 


276  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

You  get  the  mistress  to  take  the  favorite  upon  tier  lap, 
and  request  she  will  oblige  you  by  pinching  the  skin. 
"  Oh,  harder ;  pray,  a  little  harder,  madam!"  Never- 
theless, all  your  entreaties  cannot  move  the  kind  mistress 
to  do  that  which  she  fears  will  pain  her  pet ;  whereon 
you  request  permission  to  be  permitted  to  make  a  trial ; 
and  it  being  granted,  you  seize  the  coat,  and  give  the 
animal  one  of  the  hardest  pinches  of  which  your  fore- 
finger and  thumb,  compressed  with  all  your  might,  are 
capable.  The  animal  turns  its  head  round  and  licks  your 
hand,  to  reward  the  polite  attention,  and  solicits  a  con- 
tinuance of  your  favors.  The  skin  is  thick  and  insensi- 
ble. "What  teeth  remain,  are  covered  with  tartar,  and 
the  breath  smells  like  a  pestilence. 

The  dog  is  taken  home,  and  an  allowance  of  whole- 
some rice  and  gravy  placed  before  it,  with  one  ounce  of 
meat  by  weight.  The  flesh  is  greedily  devoured,  but  the 
other  mess  remains  untouched.  The  next  day  the  un- 
touched portion  is  removed,  and  fresh  supplied  ;  also  the 
same  meat  as  before,  which  is  consumed  ere  the  hand 
which  presented  the  morsel  is  retracted,  the  head  being 
raised  to  ask  for  more. 

The  second  day,  however,  the  gravy  and  rice  are 
eaten,  and  the  meat  on  the  morrow  is  deficient ;  gravy 
and  rice  for  the  future  constituting  the  animal's  fare. 
Then,  for  physic,  an  embrocation  containing  one-third  of 
turpentine  is  used  thrice  daily,  to  rub  the  animal's  back, 
neck,  and  belly  with.  Some  of  the  cathartic  pills  are 
given  over  night,  with  the  castor-oil  mixture  in  the  morn- 


DOGS  !     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  277 

ing.  Constant  purgation  is  judiciously  kept  up,  and 
before  the  first  fortnight  expires,  the  dog  ceases  to  howl. 
Then  the  pills  and  mixture  are  given  every  other  night, 
arid  the  quantity  of  turpentine  in  the  embrocation  in- 
creased to  one-half,  the  other  ingredients  being  of  the 
same  amount.  This  rubbed  in  as  before,  evidently 
annoys  the  animal,  and  on  that  account  is  used  only 
twice  a-day.  When  all  signs  of  pain  are  gone,  the  tur- 
pentine is  then  lowered  to  one-third,  the  embrocation 
being  applied  only  once  a-day,  because  it  now  gives 
actual  pain.  Some  liniment,  however,  is  continued,  gene- 
rally making  the  poor  beast  howl  whenever  it  is  adminis- 
tered. At  the  expiration  of  a  month,  all  treatment  is 
abandoned  for  a  week,  that  the  skin  may  get  rid  of  its 
scurf,  and  you  may  perceive  the  effect  of  the  treatment 
you  have  pursued.  If  the  skin  then  appears  thin,  espe- 
cially on  the  neck  and  near  the  tail,  being  also  sensitive, 
clean  the  teeth,  and  send  the  dog  home  with  a  bottle  of 
cleansing  fluid,  a  tooth-brush,  (as  before  explained,)  and 
strict  injunctions  with  regard  tp  diet. 

EMBROCATION  (FIRST  STRENGTH)  FOR  RHEUMATISM. 

Turpentine \ 

Laudanum >  One  part  of  each. 

Soap  liniment   ....  ) 

Tincture  of  capsicums    .  .     A  little. 

The  subsequent  strength  is  made  by  increasing  the  quan- 
tity of  turpentine. 


278  DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 


THE    RECTUM. 


PILES. — The  dog  is  very  subject  to  these  annoyances 
in  all  their  various  forms ;  for  the  posterior  intestine  of 
the  animal  seems  to  be  peculiarly  susceptible  of  disease. 
When  enteritis  exists  the  rectum  never  escapes,  but  is 
very  frequently  the  seat  of  the  most  virulent  malice  of 
the  disorder.  There  are  reasons  why  such  should  be  the 
case.  The  dog  has  but  a  small  apology  for  what  should 
be  a  caecum,  and  the  colon  I  assume  to  be  entirely  want- 
ing. The  guts,  which  in  the  horse  are  largest,  in  the 
canine  species  are  not  characterised  by  any  difference  of 
bulk  ;  and  however  compact  may  be  the  food  on  which 
the  dog  subsists,  nevertheless  a  proportionate  quantity  of 
its  substance  must  be  voided.  If  the  excrement  be  less 
than  in  beasts  of  herbivorous  natures,  yet  there  being 
but  one  small  receptacle  in  which  it  can  be  retained,  the 
effects  upon  that  receptacle  are  more  concentrated,  and 
the  consequences  therefore  are  very  much  more  violent. 
The  dung  of  the  horse  and  ox  is  naturally  moist,  and 
only  during  disease  is  it  ever  in  a  contrary  condition. 
Costiveness  is  nearly  always  in  some  degree  present  in 
the  dog.  During  health  the  animal's  bowels  are  never 
relaxed ;  but  the  violent  straining  it  habitually  employs 
to  expel  its  faeces  would  alone  suggest  the  injury  to 
which  the  rectum  is  exposed,  even  if  the  inclination  to 
swallow  substances  which  in  their  passage  are  likely  to 
cause  excoriation  did  not  exist.  The  grit,  dirt,  bone,  and 
filth  that  dogs  will,  spite  of  every  precaution,  manage  to 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  279 

obtain,  must  be  frequent  sources  of  piles,  which  without 
such  instigation  would  frequently  appear.  Bones,  which 
people  carelessly  conclude  the  dog  should  consume,  it 
can  in  some  measure  digest ;  but  it  can  do  this  only  par- 
tially when  in  vigorous  health.  Should  the  body  be 
delicate,  such  substances  pass  through  it  hardly  affected 
by  the  powers  of  assimilation ;  they  become  sharp  and 
hard  projections  when  surrounded  by,  and  fixed  in  the 
firm  mass,  which  is  characteristic  of  the  excrement  of  the 
dog.  A  pointed  piece  of  bone,  projecting  from  an  almost 
solid  body,  is  nearly  certain  to  lacerate  the  tender  and 
soft  membrane  over  which  it  would  have  to  be  propelled ; 
•and  though,  as  I  have  said,  strong  and  vigorous  dogs  can 
eat  almost  with  impunity,  and  extract  considerable  nou- 
rishment from  bones,  nevertheless  they  do  not  constitute 
a  proper  food  for  these  animals  at  any  time.  When  the 
system  is  debilitated,  the  digestion  is  always  feeble ;  and, 
under  some  conditions  of  disease,  I  have  tak'en  from  the 
stomachs  of  dogs  after  death,  in  an  unaltered  state,  meat, 
which  had  been  swallowed  two  days  prior  to  death.  It 
had  been  eaten  and  had  been  retained  for  at  least  forty- 
eight  hours,  but  all  the  functions  had  been  paralyzed, 
and  it  continued  unchanged.  If  such  a  thing  be  possible 
under  any  circumstances,  then  in  the  fact  there  is  suffi- 
cient reason  why  people  should  be  more  cautious  in  the 
mode  of  feeding  these  creatures ;  for  I  have  extracted 
from  the  rectums  of  dogs  large  quantities  of  trash,  such 
as  hardened  masses  of  comminuted  bones  and  of  cocoa- 
nut,  which,  because  the  animal  would  eat  it,  the  owners 


280  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

thought  it  to  be  incapable  of  doing  harm.  Nature  has 
not  fitted  the  dog  to  thrive  upon  many  substances  ;  cer- 
tain vegetables  afford  it  wholesome  nourishment,  but  a 
large  share  of  that  which  is  either  wantonly  or  ignorantly 
given  as  food,  is  neither  nutritive  nor  harmless.  What- 
ever injures  the  digestion,  from  the  disposition  of  the 
rectum  to  sympathise  in  all  disorders  of  the  great  mucous 
track,  is  likely  to  induce  piles ;  and  the  anus  of  the  ani- 
mal is  often  as  indicative  of  the  general  state  of  the  body 
as  is  the  tongue  of  man. 

In  perfect  health  the  anus  should  be  small,  firm,  close, 
and  entirely  retracted ;  especially  should  it  be  cleanly. 
Any  soil  upon  the  part,  or  any  excrement  adhering  to 
the  hair  about  its  margin,  is  indicative  of  derangement. 
If  the  fundament  protrudes,  so  that  it  can  be  grasped  by 
the  finger  and  thumb,  or  if  it  presents  a  sensible  projec- 
tion to  the  touch,  the  digestion  is  not  sound.  The  indi- 
cation is  still  worse  when  the  orifice  is  enlarged — the 
edges  not  being  inflamed,  which  indeed  they  seldom  are, 
but  swollen,  loose,  coarse,  creased,  and  unsightly.  This 
state  will  not  continue  long  before  cracks  and  ulcers  may 
be  detected  upon  the  borders  of  the  opening,  which  ulti- 
mately is  constantly  moistened  by  an  unctuous  and  pecu- 
liarly fetid  discharge.  If  the  lips  of  the  orifice  be  gently 
pulled  aside,  the  more  inward  portion  of  the  membrane 
will  frequently  be  seen  of  a  bright  scarlet  color,  and  wet 
with  a  watery  fluid,  but  the  anus  is  rarely  of  so  deep  a 
tint,  the  hue  being,  even  in  aggravated  cases,  only  a  pale 
reddish  brown. 


DOGS!     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  281 

To  correct  this  state  of  disease,  the  first  thing  to  be 
attended  to  is  the  food.  The  diet  must  be  strictly  regu- 
lated ;  it  should  not  be  too  much  reduced  either  in  quan- 
tity or  quality,  for  dogs  in  this  state  are  generally  old, 
and  always  weakly.  Enough  of  good  food  should  be 
allowed,  but  nothing  more  ought  to  be  given.  Meat, 
lean,  and  from  a  healthy  animal,  as  constituting  the  light- 
est and  most  nourishing  diet,  will  here  be  best,  and  from 
two  ounces  to  two  pounds  may  be  divided  into  four 
meals,  and  given  in  the  course  of  the  day.  Plenty  of 
exercise  and  a  daily  cold  bath  will  likewise  be  bene- 
ficial. 

Medicine  must  be  -employed  for  two  purposes ;  the 
first,  to  alleviate  the  pain  and  act  locally  on  the  disease ; 
and  the  second,  to  amend  the  general  health,  checking 
the  constitutional  disposition  to  be  affected.  As  a  local 
application,  Mr.  Elaine  recommends  an  ointment ;  which 
I  object  to,  because  I  have  found  it  aggravate  the  suf- 
fering without  conferring  any  compensating  benefit 
Astringents,  such  as  the  acetate  of  lead,  are  not  curative  ; 
but  the  following  ointment  has  done  so  much  good  in 
these  cases  that  I  can  most  confidently  submit  it  to  the 
public : — 

Camphor Two  drachma. 

Strong  mercurial  ointment    .     One  drachm. 
Elder  ointment One  ounce. 

The  only  addition  I  make  to  the  above  is  occasionally 
a  drachm  of  powdered  opium.  This  is  smeared  over  the 


282  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

exterior  of,  and  also  inserted  up,  the  rectum,  thrice  in 
the  day.  A  piece  of  wood  nicely  rounded,  or  a  pen- 
holder if  the  animal  be  small,  answers  very  well  to  in- 
troduce the  -salve  into  the  gut ;  and  of  course  it  should 
be  done  with  every  consideration,  for  the  pain  it  will  at 
first  produce.  The  resistance  is  often  strong,  and  the 
cries  violent ;  for  in  some  cases  the  rectum  is  so  sensitive 
that  the  mere  lifting  of  the  tail  cannot  be  silently  endur- 
ed. The  poor  dog  seems  in  constant  agony  ;  for  I  have 
known  the  exclamations  to  be  provoked  by  simply  look- 
ing at  the  part,  and  the  animal  evidently  shrieked  from 
the  idea  of  it  being  touched.  All  possible  tenderness, 
therefore,  is  required  ;  and  the  dog  should  be  very  firmly 
held,  to  prevent  its  contortions  from  adding  to  its  anguish. 
When  the  ointment  is  regularly  and  properly  employed, 
the  relief  is  generally  speedy  ;  and  after  the  third  day 
the  dog,  which  had  been  so  energetically  resistful,  often 
submits  to  be  dressed  without  a  murmur.  The  cessation 
of  the  howling  will  indicate  the  progress  of  the  cure,  but 
the  application  should  be  used  for  some  days  after  the 
animal  becomes  silent.  If  much  stench  is  present,  the 
fundament  may  be  at  each  dressing  moistened  with  very 
dilute  solution  of  the  chloride  of  zinc,  and  a  small  quan- 
tity may  be  administered  as  an  injection,  after  the  grease 
has  been  introduced. 

The  constitutional  remedies  must  be  regulated  by  the 
symptoms,  and  nothing  absolute  can  be  said  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  but  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  tonics  will  be 
required.  Purgatives  are  not  often  needed,  but  a  day's 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  283 

feed  of  liver  once  or  twice  a  week  will  do  no  harm. 
Should  it  not  have  the  desired  effect,  a  little  olive  oil 
may  be  given  ;  but  nothing  stronger  ought  to  be  risked, 
and  above  all,  no  preparation  of  mercury — which,  in  the 
dog,  specially  acts  upon  the  rectum — ought  on  any 
account  to  be  permitted. 

Piles,  if  not  attended  to,  become  causes  of  further 
disease,  which  may  in  some  cases  prove  fatal,  though  in 
the  larger  number  of  instances  they  are  far  more  distress- 
ing than  dangerous. 

A  sero-sanguineous  abscess,  that  is,  a  tumor  consisting 
of  a  single  sac  or  numerous  small  bladders,  containing  a 
thin  and  bloody  fluid,  is  by  no  means  a  rare  accompani- 
ment of  long-continued  piles.  These  mostly  appear 
rather  to  one  side  of,  and  more  below  than  above,  the 
opening,  the  verge  of  which  they  always  involve.  They 
occasion  little  pain,  and  often  grow  to  a  comparatively 
enormous  size  ;  when  they  may  burst  and  leave  a  ragged 
ulcer,  which  has  little  disposition  to  heal,  and  is  not  im- 
proved by  the  dog's  drawing  it  along  the  ground. 

When  these  are  observed,  the  knife  should  not  be  too 
quickly  resorted  to.  The  abscess  should  be  allowed  to 
progress  until  it  is  fully  matured,  the  dog  being  in  the 
meantime  treated  for  simple  piles.  When  the  tumor 
perceptibly  fluctuates,  it  should  be  freely  opened,  the  in- 
cision being  made  along  its  entire  length.  This  is  best 
done  with  one  of  Liston's  knives,  which  should  be  thrust 
fairly  through  the  swelling,  entering  at  the  top  and 
coming  out  at  the  lowest  part,  when  with  one  movement 


284  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

of  the  wrist  the  substance  is  divided.  The  operation 
thus  performed  is  much  quicker,  less  painful,  and  more 
safe  than  it  can  possibly  be  rendered  if  the  tumor  be 
punctured  and  slit  up  with  repeated  thrusts  of  an  ordi- 
nary lancet.  I  have  frequently  opened  these  sacs  with- 
out the  animal  uttering  even  a  moan,  and  mercy  is 
wisdom  where  surgery  is  employed.  Dogs  will  not  bear 
torture,  and  soon  become  blindly  infuriated  if  subjected 
to  pain.  The  animal  is  naturally  so  sensitive  and  excit- 
able that  the  brutality  or  suffering  a  horse  can  sustain, 
these  animals  would  perish  under.  He,  therefore,  who 
undertakes  to  treat  the  diseases  of  the  canine  race,  if 
the  amiable  qualities  of  the  brute  or  his  own  feelings 
have  no  influence,  will  in  the  success  of  his  practice  dis- 
cover ample  reason  for  the  exercise  of  a  little  humanity. 

After  the  sac  is  opened  a  portion  of  lint  should  be 
used,  to  render  the  part  perfectly  dry,  which  may  then 
be  lightly  pencilled  over  with  lufiar  caustic,  or  moisten- 
ed with  some  caustic  solution.  Fomentations  of  warm 
water  to  keep  the  wound  free  from  dirt,  and  with  no 
other  object,  are  all  that  subsequently  will  be  required. 

Tumors  of  a  solid  nature  also  form  about  the  anus, 
and  are  likewise  consequent  upon  neglected  piles. 
These  generally  appear  at  the  root  of  the  tail  supe- 
rior to  the  opening.  They  feel  hard  ;  are  glistening  ; 
not  very  tender  ;  but  highly  vascular,  and  in  some 
cases  pulsate  strongly.  The  dog  is  generally  loaded 
with  fat,  perhaps  slightly  mangy  ;  nearly  always  old, 
gross  and  weak.  The  quantity  of  blood  that  at  van- 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  285 

ous  intervals  is  lost  from  this  tumor,  which  at  length 
ulcerates  and  bleeds  at  the  slightest  touch,  or  without 
any  apparent  cause,  is  often  very  great  ;  but  it  does 
not,  save  in  the  very  latest  stage,  induce  obvious  ema- 
ciation. The  health  is  not  good,  of  course,  but  to  the 
casual  observer  the  disease  does  not  appear  to  affect 
the  system.  The  spirits  under  excitement  are,  to  all 
appearances,  undiminished,  and  the  appetite  is  in  these 
cases  ravenous.  If,  however,  the  dog  had  to  do  work, 
the  truth  would  be  soon  discovered.  After  a  short 
space  the  strength  would  fail,  and  no  correction  could 
keep  the  poor  animal  to  its  duty. 

The  treatment  must  commence  with  constitutional  re- 
medies, if  the  state  of  the  part  permits  of  the  requisite 
delay.  The  digestion  should  be  amended,  and  the  piles, 
which  are  certain  to  be  present,  attended  to.  After  a 
fortnight,  more  or  less,  has  been  devoted  to  such  mea- 
sures, a  strong  ligature  should  be  tied  as  tight  up  as 
possible  around  the  base  of  the  growth,  and  a  fresh 
one  should  be  applied  every  second  day.  There  must 
be  no  forbearance  in  the  application  of  the  ligature,  but 
the  degree  of  tension  must  be  regulated  only  by  the 
strength  of  the  operator.  This  is  far  more  severe  than 
the  removal  would  be  if  the  knife  were  employed,  but 
I  have  not  seen  a  case  which  I  dared  venture  to  excise. 
I  do  not  like  the  ligature  ;  it  is  long  and  torturing  in  its 
action ;  but  here  there  will  be  no  chance,  for  the  ves- 
sels are  too  numerous  and  large  to  admit  of  the  speedier 
process  being  resorted  to.  Where  it  is  possible,  it  is 


286  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

well,  however,  to  cut  through  the  skin  hefore  applying 
the  cord  ;  for  the  operation  is  expedited  considerably, 
and  an  important  deduction  made  from  the  animal's 
agony. 

When  the  tumor  drops  off,  the  surface  may  be  sprin- 
kled thrice  a  day  with  the  following  powder  : — 

Camphor  in  powder, 

Opium  in  powder, 

Grey  powder, 

Powdered  galls,  of  each  an  equal  quantity. 

Or  a  little  of  the  ointment  recommended  for  piles  may 
be  smeared  upon  the  wound  in  lieu  of  the  above.  An 
unguent  is  perhaps  to  be  preferred,  as  giving  better  pro- 
tection to  the  sore,  over  which  the  faeces  must  pass,  and 
also  as  being  more  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  the  pa- 
tient. Powder  and  ointment  may  be  changed  and 
varied  according  to  the  judgment  of  the  attendant : 
thus,  to  render  the  last  more  stimulating,  I  mix  creo- 
sote with  it  occasionally  ;  or  to  give  it  an  astringent 
property  I  add  a  portion  of  galls,  catechu,  or  kino ;  but 
these  I  never  pass  into  the  rectum.  Astringents  intro- 
duced upon  the  sore  and  ulcerated  surface  of  the  intes- 
tine of  course  render  it  harsh,  dry,  and  corrugated ;  and 
as  during  the  exercise  of  its  function  the  part  is  necessa- 
rily dilated,  the  animal  is,  by  the  pain  produced  from  the 
stretching  of  the  constringed  membrane,  indisposed  for 
the  performance  of  that  act,  on  the  regular  discharge  of 
which  its  health  in  no  little  measure  depends.  Astrin- 


DOGS  !    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  287 

gents,  moreover,  heat  and  irritate  the  part ;  and  the  sen- 
sations induced  make  the  dog  draw  its  anus  along  the 
ground,  thereby  adding  greatly  to  the  evil  it  is  the  inten- 
tion of  the  application  to  remove.  Therefore  prudence 
will  approve  what  humanity  suggests  ;  and  those  who  in 
kindly  feeling  can  discover  no  motive,  will  in  the  colder 
reason  find  every  inducement  for  the  adoption  of  the 
gentler  measure. 

Protrusion  of  the  rectum  is  also  sometimes  a  conse- 
quence of  gross  feeding,  starting  up  piles  in  the  first  in- 
stance, and  then,  from  more  intense  digestive  derange- 
ment, causing  purgation,  accompanied  with  violent 
straining.  The  tone  of  the  intestine  is  destroyed.  It 
becomes  lax,  and  its  muscular  power  is  lost.  The  gut  is 
at  first  only  a  little  exposed  during  the  act,  and  when 
that  is  over,  it  is  retracted  ;  but  after  some  time,  the  limit 
of  which  is  uncertain,  it  remains  constantly  protruded. 
It  is  not  so  violently  inflamed  as  might  be  expected,  but 
it  soon  gets  dry  and  harsh ;  cracks  appear  upon  its  sur- 
face ;  and  the  pressure  of  the  muscle  which  closes  the 
anus  preventing  the  free  circulation  of  the  blood,  renders 
it  black  from  congestion. 

If  taken  early,  the  treatment  recommended  for  piles 
will  generally  effect  a  cure ;  but  if  nothing  be  done  in 
the  first  instance,  the  disease  when  established  is  apt  to 
prove  intractable.  The  intestine  should  be  sopped  with 
cold  water  until  every  particle  of  dirt  is  removed.  It 
should  then  be  dried  with  a  soft  cloth,  and  afterwards 
returned.  There  is  never  much  difficulty  in  replacing 


288  DOGS  :    THEIK    MANAGEMENT. 

the  gut ;  but  there  is  always  considerable  difficulty  to  get 
it  to  be  retained.  So  soon  as  it  is  restored  to  its  situ- 
ation, a  human  stomach  pump  should  be  inserted  up  the 
rectum,  and  a  full  stream  of  the  coldest  spring  water 
should  be  thrown  into  the  bowel  for  ten  minutes.  The 
fluid  will  be  returned  so  fast  as  it  enters,  and  it  must  be 
allowed  to  do  so,  the  fingers  of  one  hand  being  employed 
against  the  anus  to  prevent  the  disordered  rectum  being 
ejected  with  the  water.  Cold  injection  in  less  quantity 
must  be  administered  several  times  during  the  day,  and 
with  each  a  little  of  the  tincture  of  galls,  or  of  nux 
vomica,  in  the  proportion  of  a  drachm  to  a  pint,  may  be 
united.  The  ointment  recommended  for  piles  may  also 
be  employed,  but  without  opium,  for  no  application  of  a 
sedative  nature  must  be  used.  The  constitutional  mea- 
sures will  consist  of  tonics  into  which  nux  vomica  enters. 
The  food  must  be  light  and  nourishing,  and  purgatives 
on  no  account  must  be  administered.  Cold  will  do  good 
by  invigorating  the  system,  and  should  always  be  recom- 
mended. Some  persons,  unable  by  sedatives  and  purga- 
tives, which  are  injurious,  to  obtain  relief,  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  cut  off  the  projecting  bowel,  and  they  have 
thereby  certainly  ended  the  case ;  for  the  dog  dies  when- 
ever this  is  done.  I  remember  at  the  Veterinary  Col- 
lege, Professor  Simonds  killed  a  fine  animal  by  attempt- 
ing this  operation ;  for  he  took  a  heated  spatula  to 
remove  the  part,  and  carried  the  incision  so  high  up  that 
he  opened  the  abdomen,  and  the  bowels  protruded  from 
the  anus.  Amputation  of  any  portion  of  the  rectum  is 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  289 

not  to  be  tli ought  of;  but  an  operation  of  a  less  heroic 
description  will  sometimes  accomplish  what  the  previous 
measures  failed  to  effect.  With  a  knife,  having  not  too 
sharp  but  a  coarse  edge,  a  circular  portion  of  the  exposed 
lining  membrane,  of  a  width  proportioned  to  the  size  of 
the  animal,  may  be  scraped  off,  so  as  to  induce  a  cicatrix ; 
or,  if  the  dog  be  very  tractable,  and  the  operator  skilful, 
a  piece  of  it  may  partially  be  dissected  off;  but  the 
knife,  when  employed  in  the  last  method,  is  apt  to  cause 
alarming  hemorrhage.  When  this  is  done,  as  the  wound 
heals  the  edges  come  together,  and  the  gut  is  so  far 
shortened  as  to  be  thereby  retracted.  There  is,  how- 
ever, some  danger  of  stricture  being  afterwards  esta- 
blished ;  wherefore  this  operation,  nowever  satisfactory  it 
may  seem  to  be  in  the  first  instance,  is  not  so  certain  in 
the  benefit  of  its  results  that  it  should  be  resorted  to, 
save  in  extreme  cases  when  every  other  means  have 
failed,  and  the  choice  at  last  hangs  between  relief  and 
destruction. 

Another  affection  of  the  part,  to  which  Scotch  terriers 
of  great  size  are  particularly  subject,  begins  with  an  en- 
largement below  the  anus,  extending  either  quite  or 
almost  to  the  testicles  ;  for  males  are  more  frequently 
attacked  by  this  form  of  disease  than  females.  The  dog 
is  generally  old,  and  a  favorite  with  an  indulgent  mis- 
tress, having  much  to  eat,  and  little  or  no  work  to  do. 
The  swelling  is  soft  and  attended  with  no  pain.  On 
pressure  and  on  percussion  it  is  ascertained  to  hold  fluid, 
and  in  fact  it  arises  from  dropsy  of  the  permseum.  The 

13 


290  DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

health  may  appear  to  be  good,  but  on  examination  debi- 
lity will  be  found  to  be  present.  The  anus  also  pro- 
trudes, and  the  orifice  is  thickened  ;  while,  possibly,  a 
marked  tendency  to  piles  may  at  the  same  time  be  dis- 
played. Should  no  attention  be  paid  to  the  case,  the 
swelling  will  continue  without  sensibly  enlarging  ;  but 
after  a  period,  hard  substances  may  with  the  fingers  be 
detected  beneath  it.  These  hard  bodies  are  faeces,  which 
accumulate  within  the  rectum,  and  often  in  so  great  a 
quantity  as  to  seriously  inconvenience  the  animal,  ren- 
dering it  dull  and  indisposed  to  feed. 

Before  attempting  to  direct  the  treatment  for  these 
cases,  it  is  necessary  the  nature  of  the  affection  should 
be  fully  explained.  The  enlargement,  to  which  attention 
is  at  first  solely  directed,  is  always  of  secondary  con- 
sideration. The  dropsy  is  merely  a  symptom  indicative 
of  the  loss  of  tone  of  the  adjacent  parts,  of  which  the 
rectum  is  by  far  the  most  important  If  this  circumstance 
be  not  observed,  but  the  swelling  be  treated  as  if  it  was 
all  the  practitioner  had  to  contend  with,  he  will  in  the 
end  learn  his  mistake.  The  intestine  loses  its  tonicity  ;  it 
no  longer  has  power  to  contract  upon  or  to  expel  its  con- 
tents ;  it  becomes  paralysed,  and  the  dung  consequently 
accumulates  within  it,  distending  it,  and  adding  to  its 
weakness  by  constant  tension.  The  rectum  at  length 
retains  no  ability  to  perform  its  function ;  but  the  sphinc- 
ter of  the  anus,  or  the  circular  muscle  that  closes  the 
opening,  appears  to  gain  the  strength  of  which  the  intes- 
tine is  deprived.  It  contracts,  and  thus  shuts  up  the 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  291 

faeces  which  the  rectum  cannot  make  an  effort  to  dis- 
lodge ;  and  in  this  circumstance  the  physiologist  sees  evi- 
dence of  the  sources  whence  the  different  parts  derive 
their  contractility.  The  rectum,  like  the  other  intestines, 
gains  its  vital  power  from  the  sympathetic  nerve,  or  that 
nerve  of  nutrition  and  secretion  which  presides  over 
organic  life.  The  muscle  of  the  anus,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  influenced  by  nerves  derived  from  the  spinal  column  j 
and  thus,  understanding  the  two  parts  obtain  their  motor 
power  from  different  sources,  the  reader  will  comprehend 
how  one  can  be  incapable  of  motion  while  the  other  is 
unaffected,  or  rather  excited ;  for  the  presence  of  the 
retained  dung  acts  as  an  irritant,  and  provokes  the  anus 
to  contract  with  more  than  usual  vigor. 

If  nothing  be  done  to  restore  the  balance  of  power,  the 
rectum  speedily  is  so  much  distended  that  its  walls 
become  attenuated,  and  then  a  cure  is  hopeless ;  a  sac  is 
formed,  and  the  gut  is  not  only  much  stretched  or  enlarged, 
but  it  is  also,  by  the  excessive  bulk  of  its  contents,  forced 
from  its  natural  position,  being  carried  either  to  one  side 
or  the  other,  but  always  to  where  the  dropsy  is  most 
conspicuous. 

In  such  cases,  when  the  dropsy  is  first  observed,  our 
care  must  be  to  invigorate  the  system.  Small  doses  of 
nux  vomica,  with  iron,  gentian  and  capsicums,  made  into 
a  pill,  will  generally  do  this,  and  the  following  form  may 
be  employed : — 

Nux  vomica,  in  powder .     .     Five  grains  to  a  scruple. 
Capsicums,  in  powder     .     .     Ten  grains  to  two  scruples. 


292  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

Sulphate  of  iron     ....     One  t&  four  scruples. 
Extract  of  gentian      .     .     .     Two  drachms  to  one  ounce. 
Cinchona  powder  ....     A  sufficiency. 

Make  into  twenty  pills,  and  give  four  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  The  liver  is  too  often  at  this  time  unhealthy,  and 
to  correct  it  the  subjoined  may  be  "administered  : — 

Iodide  of  potassium  .     .     .  One  drachm. 

Uquor  potassae .....  Two  ounces. 

Simple  syrup Five  ounces. 

Water A  pint. 

Dose,  from  a  tea-spoon  to  a  table-spoonful  three  times  a 
day.  The  food  should  be  chiefly  vegetables,  or  at  all 
events  only  so  much  meat  should  be  allowed  as  is  required 
to  induce  the  dog  to  eat  the  mess  of  boiled  rice.  Exer- 
cise is  also  essential,  and  a  daily  cold  bath  with  a  brisk 
run  afterwards,  will  be  of  service.  The  dog  will  likewise 
be  benefited  if  his  skin  be  well  brushed  every  morning ; 
and  perhaps  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  any 
symptoms  denoting  mange  or  skin  disease,  canker,  &c., 
should  be  specially  counteracted. 

Hitherto,  however,  nothing  has  been  said  about  any 
treatment  of  the  part  which  is  the  immediate  seat  of  the 
disease.  If  the  fluid  poured  into  the  perinseum  be  exces- 
sive, the  part  must  be  laid  freely  open  by  two  or  three 
incisions  being  made  along  the  entire  length  of  the 
swelling.  After  this  has  been  done,  the  liquid  will  not 
escape  as  from  an  abscess ;  for  being  held  within  the  cells 
of  the  membrane  that  lies  immediately  under  the  skin, 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  293 

comparatively  little  of  it  is  released  from  the  knife.  A 
fine  pair  of  scissors  will  be  required  to  snip  the  separate 
bags  or  bladders ;  but  that  operation  must  be  performed 
with  caution,  else  injury  may  possibly  be  done.  The 
business  being  concluded,  let  the  parts  be  afterwards 
dressed  with  the  tincture  of  iodine,  or  a  tincture  of  the 
iodide  of  potassium,  of  the  strength  of  a  drachm  to  the 
ounce  of  proof  spirit ;  this  being  preferable  to  water  for  a 
solution  in  these  cases.  Into  the  rectum  also  injections 
should  be  thrown  at  least  three  times  a  day,  and  all  of 
these  ought  to  be  of  a  tonic  and  stimulating  kind,  being 
used  perfectly  cold.  Either  of  the  following  may  be 
administered : — 

1. 

Tincture  of  cantharidea    .     .     One  drachm. 
Camphor  mixture      ....     One  pint. 

2. 

Tincture  of  nux  vomica    .     .  One  drachm. 

Tincture  of  tolu One  drachm. 

Water One  pint. 

3. 

Tincture  of  cubebs  ....  One  drachm. 

Liquor  potassae One  drachm. 

Camphor  mixture     ....  One  pint. 

4. 

Solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  .     One  drachm. 
Distilled  water One  pint. 

Any  of  the  above  may  be  employed,  from  a  table- 
spoonful  to  a  common  wine-glass  full  being  used  for  a 


294  DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

dose.  The  pile  ointment  will  likewise  be  beneficial,  by 
facilitating  the  passage  of  the  faeces,  allaying  local  irrita- 
bility, and  correcting  that  tendency  to  piles  which  is 
generally  attendant  upon,  if  not  the  original  cause  of  the 
affection. 

From  what  has  been  described,  the  reader  will  have 
seen  that  the  diseases  of  the  dog's  rectum  are  neither 
few  nor  insignificant.  Fistula  in  ano  is  said  to  be  often 
beheld  ;  but  I  have  never  seen  a  case  in  which  it  assumed 
in  the  dog  that  serious  form  which  characterises  it  in  man. 
In  the  canine  race  I  have  mostly  let  it  alone,  and  hither- 
to I  have  had  no  reason  to  repent  my  forbearance. 
Elaine  and  Youatt  both  speak  of  the  affection,  and  give 
directions  for  its  treatment  by  operation.  The  most 
active  remedy  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  has 
been  an  astringent  or  mildly  caustic  injection  ;  the  solu- 
tion of  the  chloride  of  zinc  I  prefer  to  every  other,  but 
the  sulphates  are  also  not  to  be  despised.  Injections, 
when  not  designed  to  be  immediately  operative,  or  meant 
to  distend  the  gut  and  to  act  through  being  ejected,  are 
best  given  by  means  of  the  India-rubber  bladder,  which 
allows  the  fluid  to  be  more  gently  and  silently  thrown 
up.  The  less  noise  or  force  attending  the  operation  the 
less  likely  is  the  animal  to  be  alarmed  or  excited,  and  the 
probability  is  the  enema  will  be  retained.  Small  quanti- 
ties are  to  be  administered  when  the  fluid  is  wished  to 
remain  ;  and  by  attracting  the  attention  of  the  dog  at 
the  time,  and  amusing  him  after  the  business  is  finished, 
the  object  in  view  is  considerably  favored.  The  adminis- 


DOGS  !     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  295 

tration  of  an  injection  is  in  the  first  instance  almost  cer- 
tain to  alarm  the  animal,  who  can  neither  understand 
nor  passively  sanction  the  strange  liberty  the  operation 
implies.  A  little  soothing,  however,  will  restore  his  con- 
fidence, and  he  who  has  gained  the  trust  of  a  dog,  may 
subsequently  do  as  he  pleases  with  the  body  of  the  gene- 
rous and  confiding  beast. 


NERVOUS   DISEASES. FITS    IN   THE   DOG. 

YOUATT  speaks  of  fits  as  particularly  fatal  to  the  dog, 
saying  they  "  kill  more  than  all  the  other  diseases  put 
together."  The  experience  of  this  esteemed  authority  is 
in  direct  variance  with  my  own — save  from  distemper. 
When  the  fits  occur  in  that  disease  they  are  mostly 
fatal,  being  the  wind-up  of  all  the  many  evils  which  the 
malady  in  its  most  intense  and  malignant  form  can  accu- 
mulate on  one  doomed  life — I  have  not  otherwise  found 
them  especially  troublesome. 

Fainting  fits  require  little  attention  ;  if  the  dog  be 
left  quiet,  it  will  in  due  time  often  recover  without  medi- 
cine. 

Puerperal,  or  rather  pupping  fits,  are  treated  of  in 
their  fitting  place,  and,  if  properly  administered  to,  are 
by  no  means  dangerous. 

Fits  par  excellence  are  witnessed  when  a  dog  is  taking 
a  long  walk  with  its  master ;  the  animal  at  first  lingers 
behind,  or  gets  a  long  distance  before  the  proprietor,  who 
notices  the  fact,  but  contents  himself  with  whistling  and 


296  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

walking  forward.  The  dog  does  not  obey  the  mandate  ; 
it  is  standing  still  as  if  stupefied ;  suddenly  it  emits  a 
strange,  loud,  guttural  sound,  and  then  falls  upon  its 
side,  continuing  to  cry,  but  more  feebly  and  more  natu- 
rally ;  its  faeces  and  urine  may  be  discharged  involunta- 
rily ;  it  will  bite  any  one  who,  during  the  existence  of 
the  attack,  incautiously  attempts  to  lay  hold  of  it ;  its 
limbs,  at  first  stretched  rigidly  out,  are  ultimately,  with 
returning  volition,  put  into  violent  motion ;  the  eye  is 
protruded  and  foam  covers  the  mouth.  When  the  con- 
vulsion has  subsided,  the  dog  raises  its  head  and  stares 
about;  after  which  it  would,  if  left  alone,  start  at  its 
utmost  pace,  and  run  heaven  only  knows  where.  Should 
idle  men  and  foolish  boys  behold  a  dog  wildly  run  on- 
ward after  having  come  out  of  a  fit,  and  raise  the  cry  of 
"  mad  dog,"  the  fate  of  the  poor  animal  is  then  sealed, 
as  fear  is  devoid  of  discrimination  or  pity.  Half  the  dogs 
killed  as  rabid  are  those  in  this  condition,  scampering 
under  the  impulse  of  returning  sensation. 

The  first  thing  any  person  is  to  do  when  out  with  a 
dog  which  has  a  fit  is  to  secure  the  animal,  and  to  pre- 
vent its  running  away  when  the  fit  has  passed.  The 
second  thing  is  stubbornly  to  close  his  ears  to  the  crowd 
who  are  certain  to  surround  him.  No  matter  what  ad- 
vice may  be  given,  he  is  to  do  nothing  but  get  the  animal 
home  as  quickly  as  possible.  He  is  neither  to  lance  the 
mouth,  slit  the  ear,  nor  cut  a  piece  of  the  tail  off.  He  is 
on  no  account  to  administer  a  full  dose  of  salt  and  water, 
a  lump  of  tobacco,  or  to  throw  the  animal  into  an  adja- 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  297 

cent  pond ;  and  of  all  things  he  is  to  allow  no  man  more 
acquainted  with  dogs  than  the  other  spectators  to  bleed 
the  creature.  Any  offer  to  rub  the  nose  with  syrup  of 
buckthorn,  however  confidently  he  who  makes  the  pro- 
posal may  recommend  that  energetic  mode  of  treatment, 
is  to  be  unhesitatingly  declined.  The  friendly  desire  of 
any  one  who  may  express  his  willingness  to  ram  a  secret 
and  choice  specific  down  the  prostrate  animal's  throat, 
must  be  refused  with  firmness.  The  attendant  must  how- 
ever take  advantage  of  the  time  the  dog  is  on  the  ground 
to  pass  a  handkerchief  round  the  neck  or  through  the 
collar.  This  done,  he  must  wait  patiently  till  the  dog 
gets  upon  its  legs,  when  he  must,  amidst  its  struggles  to 
be  free,  caress  it  and  call  it  kindly  by  its  name.  That 
part  of  the  business  over,  he  must  take  the  creature  in 
his  arms,  and  seeking  the  nearest  cab-stand,  carry  the 
poor  animal  with  all  expedition  homeward. 

I  have  known  a  dog  to  have  a  succession  of  fits  which 
lasted  more  than  an  hour  ;  and  yet  this  creature,  by  the 
treatment  I  shall  presently  describe,  was  the  next  day 
upon  its  legs,  and  to  all  appearance  as  well  as  ever. 

The  dog  being  brought  home,  if  the  fit  continues,  give 
nothing  by  the  mouth  ;  because  the  animal  being  insen- 
sible cannot  swallow  ;  and  the  breathing  being  laborious, 
anything  administered  is  more  likely  to  be  drawn  on  to 
the  lungs,  and  so  to  suffocate  the  creature,  than  to  pass 
into  the  stomach,  and  thus  (if  it  have  any  curative  pro- 
perties) effect  a  restoration.  On  this  account  the  very 
best  physic  ever  invented  would  be  dangerous,  and 

13* 


298  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

should  be  withheld.  Enemas  are  the  only  things  in  these 
cases  to  be  depended  upon  ;  and  the  best  the  author  is  at 
present  acquainted  with,  is  made  of  1,  2,  or  3  drachms  of 
sulphuric  aether,  and  2,  4,  or  6  scruples  of  laudanum  to 
1J,  3,  or  4J  ounces  of  the  very  coldest  spring  water 
that  can  be  obtained.  The  above  injection  having  been 
administered,  the  dog  is  left  entirely  by  itself,  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  in  absolute  silence  for  an  hour ;  at  the  expi- 
ration of  which  time,  in  whatever  state  the  animal  may 
be  in,  another  dose  is  given  in  the  same  manner  as  be- 
fore. 

There  is  no  limitation  to  the  quantity  which  may  be 
administered  ;  the  only  sign  the  attendant  accepts  that 
the  creature  has  received  sufficient  is  the  sight  of  it 
coiled  up  as  though  it  were  composing  itself  to  sleep, 
when  he  gives  one  more  injection,  and  leaves  the  dog  to 
recover  at  leisure,  but  in  perfect  stillness. 

So  valuable  is  this  medicine  in  cases  of  fits  that  I 
have  known  it  to  cut  them  short  as  with  a  knife ;  lite- 
rally to  let  the  first  part  of  the  fit  be  heard,  but  to  check 
the  attack  before  the  last  and  worst  portion  could  put  in 
an  appearance. 

Armed  with  this  medicine  I  fearlessly  face  the  dis- 
order, which  other  veterinary  surgeons  dread ;  and, 
whether  it  be  my  good  luck  or  no,  cannot  be  decided, 
but  I  have  not,  under  its  operation,  lost  a  single  case. 

Fits  in  my  opinion  are,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
to  be  traced  to  the  quantity  or  quality  of  the  food  con- 
sumed. In  proof  of  this,  dogs  have  had  fits  whenever 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  299 

flesh  has  been  given ;  which  ceased  on  this  kind  of  diet 
being  withheld,  and  medicine  calculated  to  restore  the 
tone  of  the  stomach  being  ordered.  In  every  case  of 
fits,  when  the  attack  is  over,  I  attend  to  the  stomach  ;  at 
the  same  time,  ordering  that  the  dog  is  to  go  short  dis- 
tances, and  never  to  leave  the  house  without  a  chain  and 
collar. 

The  object  of  this  last  injunction  is  to  prevent  the  ani- 
mal running  about,  and  thus  heating  itself,  or  causing  a 
flow  of  blood  to  the  brain. 

It  is  to  be  lamented  that  the  crowd  of  people  prevents 
an  injection  being  administered  out  of  doors  in  London : 
but  the  same  objection  does  not  apply  to- the  country  ; 
and  as  the  effects  of  the  aether  are  more  marked  in  pro- 
portion as  it  is  quickly  exhibited,  persons  in  the 
country,  when,  during  the  hot  months  of  summer,  they 
take  dogs  for  an  airing,  should  be  provided  with  the  ma- 
terials necessary  to  render  fits,  if  not  harmless,  at  all 
events  less  fatal. 

NERVOUS    SYSTEM. RABIES. 

THE  dog  is  naturally  the  most  nervous  of  all  the  dumb 
tribe.  His  intense  affection,  his  ever-watchful  jealousy, 
his  method  of  attack,  the  blindness  of  his  rage,  and  his 
insensibility  to  consequences,  all  bespeak  a  creature 
whose  nervous  system  is  developed  in  the  highest  possi- 
ble degree  I  myself  once  had  a  little  cur,  who,  as  I  sat 
reading,  would  enter  the  apartment,  jump  upon  my  knee, 
uttering  a  low  whimper  all  the  time,  creep  along  my 


300  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

waistcoat,  rub  his  little  body  against  my  head  and  face, 
lick  the  hand  lifted  up  to  return  his  caresses,  and  then 
scamper  off,  and  perhaps  not  come  near  me  again  the 
whole  of  that  afternoon.  What  was  this  but  an  affec- 
tionate impulse  seeking  a  nervous  development  ?  The 
way  to  manage  an  animal  of  this  description  is,  to  respect 
his  evident  excitability.  The  instant  a  dog  appears  to 


A  KABID  DOO. 


be  getting  excited,  there  should  be  a  sign  given,  com- 
manding a  stop  to  be  put  to  all  further  proceedings.  If 
the  respect  of  the  animal  be  habitual,  the  person  who 
mildly  enforces  it  may  enter  a  room,  where  the  same  dog 
is  in  a  rabid  state,  and  come  forth  unscathed. 

I  have  hitherto  been  much  among  dogs,  and,  neverthe- 
less, have  almost  escaped  being  bitten.  The  reason  is, 
that  I  understand  and  respect  the  innate  nervousness  of 
the  animal.  When  I  go  into  a  room,  if  there  be  a  dog 
there  and  he  growl,  I  speak  kindly  to  him,  and  then  seat 
myself,  and  bestow  on  him  none  of  my  attention  for 
some  time.  My  request  to  his  master  or  mistress  is,  that 
he  or  she  will  not  check  or  seek  to  stop  the  symptom  of 


DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  301 

his  wrath  ;  but  allow  him  to  vent  his  rage  until  he  is 
ashamed  of  it,  and  from  a  feeling  of  remorse  is  silent. 
When  this  takes  place,  and  a  sufficient  time  has  passed 
to  confirm  him  in  the  new  mood  into  which  he  has 
recently  entered,  I  approach  him  with  my  hand  ex- 
tended and  open  ;  this  I  bring  near  to  him  by  degrees, 
avoiding  all  sudden  movements  or  anything  that  might 
provoke  his  natural  disposition.  Generally  he  crouches, 
then  I  speak  to  him  in  tones  of  encouragement.  If  he 
display  a  return  of  his  warlike  propensity,  I  still  bring 
the  hand  nearer  and  nearer  to  him,  telling  him  to  bite  it 
if  he  pleases,  if  he  is  not  ashamed  to  injure  that  which 
means  to  do  him  good.  Then,  perhaps,  he  will  make  a 
snap  at  my  extended  hand,  which  is  not  upon  this  with- 
drawn, or  the  jaws  would  close  with  nervous  violence, 
but  allowed  to  remain,  and  the  teeth  are  felt  to  touch 
the  skin  without  wounding  it.  I  allow  him  to  hold  the 
hand  for  any  length  of  time  he  pleases,  telling  hin.  "  lie 
would  lose  his  character  if  he  were  to  harm  it.  That  he 
is  a  courageous  dog,  and  means  no  hurt ;  he  would  be 
ashamed  to  bite."  And  with  this  kind  of  speech,  which 
the  animal  may  not  literally  understand,  but  the  sense 
and  purpose  of  which  it  nevertheless  appears  to  com- 
prehend, I  seldom  fail  of  getting  my  hand  safe  and 
sound  from  the  creature's  jaws..  After  that  I  may  pat 
him,  for  an  intimacy  has  begun.  He  allows  me  to  drag 
him  forth,  take  him  on  my  knees,  and  permits  me  any 
liberty  I  please  to  take.  I  do  not  attribute  my  escape 
to  any  charm  that  I  possess  ;  but  account  for  it  simply 


302  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

by  my  knowing  and  respecting  the  natural  temperament 
of  the  beast  with  which  I  have  to  interfere. 

This  natural  respect  /or  the  feelings  of  a  most  affec- 
tionate creature,  with  such  a  power  of  observation  as  will 
enable  the  individual  to  recognise  the  presence  of  lamenta- 
ble sickness  in  an  animal  that  has  with  truth  been  called 
"  the  companion  of  the  home,"  shall  at  all  times  enable 
the  uneducated  in  such  matters  to  recognise  a  mad  dog, 
and,  unless  luck  be  dead  against  the  individual,  save  him 
from  being  bitten. 

It  is  no  pleasure  to  a  dog  to  go  mad.  Quite  the 
reverse.  Dreadful  as  hydrophobia  may  be  to  the  human 
being,  rabies  is  worse  to  the  dog.  It  makes  its  approach 
more  gradually.  It  lasts  longer,  and  it  is  more  intense 
while  it  endures.  The  dog  that  is  going  mad,  feels 
unwell  for  a  long  time  prior  to  the  full  development  of 
the  disease.  He  is  very  ill,  but  he  does  not  know  what 
ails  him.  He  feels  nasty  ;  dissatisfied  with  everything ; 
vexed  without  a  reason ;  and,  greatly  against  his  better 
nature,  very  snappish.  Feeling  thus,  he  longs  to  avoid 
all  annoyance  by  being  alone.  This  makes  him  seem 
strange  to  those  who  are  most  accustomed  to  him. 

The  sensation  induces  him  to  seek  solitude.  But 
there  is  another  reason  which  decides  his  choice  of  a  rest- 
ing-place. The  light  inflicts  upon  him  intense  agony. 
The  sun  is  to  him  an  instrument  of  torture,  which  he 
therefore  studies  to  avoid,  for  his  brain  aches  and  feels  as 
it  were  a  trembling  jelly.  This  induces  the  poor  brute  to 
find  out  the  holes  and  corners  where  he  is  least  likely  to 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  303 

be  noticed,  and  into  which  the  light  is  unable  to  enter. 
In  solitude  and  darkness  he  passes  his  day.  If  his  retreat 
be  discovered  and  the  master's  voice  bids  him  to  come 
forth,  the  affectionate  creature's  countenance  brightens  ; 
his  tail  beats  the  ground,  and  he  leaves  his  hiding-place, 
anxious  to  obey  the  loved  authority ;  but  before  he  has 
gone  half  the  distance,  a  kind  of  sensation  comes  over 
him,  which  produces  an  instantaneous  change  in  his  whole 
appearance.     He  seems  to  say  to  himself,  "  Why  cannot 
you  let  me  alone  1     Go  away.     Do  go  away.    You  trou- 
ble, you  pain  me."     And  thereon  he  suddenly  turns  tail 
and  darts  back  into  his  dark  corner.     If  let  alone,  there 
he  will  remain ;  perhaps  frothing  a  little  at  the  mouth, 
and  drinking  a  great  deal  of  water,  but  not  issuing  from 
his  hiding-place  to  seek  after  food.      His  appetites  are 
altered,  hair,  straw,  dirt,  filth,  excrement,  rags,  tin  shav- 
ings, stones,  the  most  noisome  and  unnatural  substances 
are  then  the  delicacies  for  which  the  poor  dog,  changed  by 
disease,  longs,  and  swallows,  in  hope  to  ease  a  burning 
stomach.     So  anxious  is  he  for  liquids,  and  so  depraved 
are  his  appetites,  that  no  sooner  has  he  passed  a  little 
urine  than  he  turns  round  to  lick  it  up.     He  is  now  alto- 
gether changed.     Still  he  does  not  desire  to  bite  mankind  ; 
he  rather  endeavors  to  avoid  society ;  he  takes  long  jour- 
neys of  thirty  or  forty  miles  in  extent,  and  lengthened 
by  all  kinds  of  accidents,  to  vent  his  restless  desire  for 
motion.     When    on   these  journeys  he  does  not  walk. 
This  would  be  too  formal  and  measured  a  pace  for  an 
animal  whose  whole  frame  quivers  with  excitement.     He 


804  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 


A    MAD    DOG  ON   THE   MARCH. 


does  not  run.  That  would  be  too  great  an  exertion  for 
an  animal  whose  body  is  the  abode  of  a  deadly  sickness. 
He  proceeds  in  a  slouching  manner,  in  a  kind  of  trot ; 
a  movement  neither  run  nor  walk,  and  his  aspect  is 
dejected.  His  eyes  do  not  glare  and  stare,  but  they  are 
dull  and  retracted.  His  appearance  is  very  characteris- 
tic, and  if  once  seen,  can  never  afterwards  be  mistaken. 
In  this  state  he  will  travel  the  most  dusty  roads,  his 
tongue  hanging  dry  from  his  open  mouth,  from  which, 
however,  there  drops  no  foam.  His  course  is  not  straight. 
How  could  it  be,  since  it  is  doubtful  Avhether  at  this 
period  he  sees  at  all  ?  His  desire  is  to  journey  unnoticed. 
If  no  one  notices  him,  he  gladly  passes  by  them.  He  is 
very  ill.  He  cannot  stay  to  bite.  If,  nevertheless,  any- 
thing oppose  his  progress,  he  will,  as  if  by  impulse, 
snap — as  a  man  in  a  similar  state  might  strike,  and  tell 
the  person  "to  get  out  of  the  way."  He  may  take  his 
road  across  a  field  in  which  there  are  a  flock  of  sheep 
Could  these  creatures  only  make  room  for  him,  and  stand 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  305 

motionless,  the  flog  would  pass  on  and  leave  them  behind 
uninjured.  But  they  begin  to  run,  and  at  the  sound, 
the  dog  pricks  up.  His  entire  aspect  changes.  Rage 
takes  possession  of  him.  What  made  that  noise  ?  He 
pursues  it  with  all  the  energy  of  madness.  He  flies  at 
one,  then  at  another.  He  does  not  mangle,  nor  is  his 
bite,  simply  considered,  terrible.  He  cannot  pause  to 
tear  the  creature  he  has  caught.  He  snaps  and  then 
rushes  onward,  till,  fairly  exhausted  and  unable  longer 
to  follow,  he  sinks  down,  and  the  sheep  pass  forward  to 
be  no  more  molested.  He  may  have  bitten  twenty  or 
thirty  in  his  mad  onslaught ;  and  would  have  worried 
more  had  his  strength  lasted,  for  the  furor  of  madness 
then  had  possession  of  him. 

He  may  be  slain  while  on  these  excursions  ;  but  if  he 
escapes  he  returns  home  and  seeks  the  darkness  and 
quiet  of  his  former  abode.  His  thirst  increases ;  but 
with  it  comes  the  swelling  of  the  throat.  He  will  plunge 
his  head  into  water,  so  ravenous  is  his  desire ;  but  not  a 
drop  of  the  liquid  can  he  swallow,  though  its  surface  is 
covered  with  bubbles  in  consequence  of  the  efforts  he 
makes  to  gulp  the  smallest  quantity.  The  throat  is  en- 
larged to  that  extent  which  will  permit  nothing  to  pass. 
He  is  the  victim  of  the  most  horrible  inflammation  of  the 
stomach,  and  the  most  intense  inflammation  of  the 
bowels.  His  state  of  suffering  is  most  pitiable.  He  has 
lost  all  self-reliance ;  even  feeling  is  gone.  He  flies  at 
and  pulls  to  pieces  anything  that  is  within  his  reach. 
One  animal  in  this  condition,  being  confined  near  a  fire, 


300  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

flew  at  the  burning  mass,  pulled  out  the  live  coals,  and  in 
his  fury  scrunched  them.  He  emits  the  most  hideons 
cries.  The  noise  he  makes  is  incessant  and  peculiar.  It 
begins  as  a  bark,  which  sound,  being  too  torturing  to  be 
continued,  is  quickly  changed  to  a  howl,  which  is  sud- 
denly cut  short  in  the  middle  ;  and  so  the  poor  wretch  at 
last  falls,  fairly  worn  out  by  a  terrible  disease. 

But  now  comes  the  question,  How  do  we  know  that 
rabies  is  a  nervous  disease  1  Why,  the  whole  course  of 
the  disorder  declares  it,  or  if  that  be  not  thought  suffi- 
cient, the  dog  at  one  stage  very  distinctly  announces  it. 
He  may  be  sitting  down,  an  unwilling  listener  to  his  mas- 
ter's voice,  when  the  brute's  eyes  will  wander ;  and  at 
length  fix  themselves  upon  some  object  at  a  distance, 
which  it  will  keep  watching,  crouching  down  as  the  hor- 
ror seems,  to  the  excited  brain  of  the  poor  beast,  to  draw 
near ;  till,  having  apparently  come  within  bounds,  the 
hateful  presence  is  no  longer  to  be  endured,  and  the 
vision-haunted  animal  dashes  forward  with  a  howl  of  exe- 
cration, as  if  to  seize  and  tear  the  terrible  spectre.  This 
action  being  performed,  and  the  dog  biting  the  air,  he 
stands  for  a  moment,  shivers,  looks  stupidly  around  him, 
and  slinks  back.  What  is  this  but  a  power  of  seeing 
visions  depending  on  a  disordered  brain,  or  positive  deli- 
rium exemplified  by  a  dumb  creature  ?  And  the  same 
piece  of  pantomime  the  dog  may  go  through  fifty  times 
in  an  hour.  No  disappointment  can  teach  him  ;  and 
experience  is  lost  upon  the  animal  that  in  his  sane  state 
was  so  quick  to  learn. 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  30*7 

Youatt  mentions  as  a  symptom,  that  the  dog  in  all  he 
does  is  instigated  by  the  spirit  of  mischief  or  of  malice, 
— that  he  desires  to  do  injury,  and  is  prompted  by  malice 
in  all  his  acts.  This,  to  an  outward  observer,  will  appear 
a  correct  judgment ;  but  it  is  essentially  wrong.  It  is 
the  conclusion  reached  by  one  who  judges  mainly  of  ex- 
teriors ;  it  can  be  true  only  to  those  who  are  willing  to 
look  no  deeper  than  the  surface.  There  can  be  no  malice 
in  a  raging  fever,  which  vents  itself  on  every  object  with- 
in its  reach,  animate  or  inanimate.  Mischief  is  too  play- 
ful a  term  to  apply  to  a  consuming  wrath  that  ultimately 
destroys  the  life.  All  pain  is  lost ;  as  a  consequence  all 
fear  is  gone.  The  poor  beast  is  urged  by  some  power 
too  mighty  for  its  control,  which  lashes  it  on  beyond  all 
earthly  restraint  to  pull  to  pieces,  to  gnaw,  and  to  at- 
tempt to  eat  every  object  it  can  get  at ;  but  how  far  it  is 
urged  by  malice  or  mischief,  the  following  anecdote  will 
serve  to  show  : — 

A  butcher  had  a  large  bull  mastiff  of  which  he  was 
very  fond ;  but,  observing  something  very  strange  in  his 
pet's  behavior,  he  came  to  consult  the  author  about  the 
dog.  The  man  was  told  to  bring  the  animal  for  inspec- 
tion early  the  same  evening.  This  order  was  given  from 
no  suspicion  of  the  truth,  for  the  owner's  description  was 
too  confused  to  be  rightly  interpreted.  The  animal  was 
accordingly  brought  punctual  to  time,  led  through  the 
streets  by  a  silk  handkerchief  carelessly  tied  round  the 
neck  of  the  beast.  The  author  being  at  the  exact  moment 
of  the  dog's  arrival,  fortunately,  engaged,  the  butcher  had 


308  DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

to  wait  some  few  minutes,  during  which  time  the  writer's 
eyes  were  kept  upon  the  huge  creature.  It  was  remarked 
to  look  round  in  a  strange  manner.  The  eye  was  retracted 
and  the  nose  dry.  It  was  at  length  seen  to  put  its  mouth 
against  its  master's  boot,  continue  in  that  position  uttering 
a  strange  noise,  and  to  move  its  jaws  as  if  biting  at  some 
substance.  The  butcher  all  this  time  stood  perfectly 
still,  allowing  his  favorite  to  follow  the  bent  of  its  incli- 
nation without  rebuke  or  opposition.  When  the  mas- 
tiffs head  was  removed,  the  boot  it  had  apparently  been 
biting  was  perfectly  dry.  The  author  observed  nothing 
more  than  this ;  but,  afraid  to  confess  his  dread,  lest  the 
cry  of  mad  dog  should  be  raised,  and  do  more,  much 
more,  harm  than  good,  he  called  to  the  butcher,  telling 
him  he  was  going  abroad  shortly,  and  would  call  upon 
him.  In  the  mean  time,  he  was  to  take  the  dog  home, 
place  it  where  it  could  do  no  injury,  and  in  a  place 
whence  there  was  no  possibility  of  escape.  The  man 
touched  his  hair  and  retired. 

No  time  elapsed  before  the  author  paid  his  promised 
visit ;  and  when  he  did  so,  he  was  pleased  to  hear  the  dog 
was  securely  confined  in  that  which  ought  to  have  been 
the  front  kitchen  of  the  house  in  which  the  butcher 
resided.  To  this  spot  the  man  led  the  way,  and  was 
about  fearlessly  to  open  the  door,  when  he  was  entreated 
to  stay  his  hand.  The  author  listened  at  the  closed 
entrance,  and  from  the  interior  there  soon  came  forth 
sounds  that  left  no  doubt  of  the  poor  creature's  real  con- 
dition. The  butcher  was  thereupon  informed  that  his 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  309 

* 

dog  was  mad.  The  man  was  at  first  wholly  incredulous  ; 
whereon  the  writer  requested  him  to  look  through  a 
chink,  and  say  how  the  animal  was  employed.  "  He  is 
tearing  a  piece  of  wood  to  pieces,  and  munching  it  as 
though  he  were  very  hungry.  Poor  thing,  I  must  go  to 
him !  He  has  taken  no  victuals  or  drink  these  three 
days."  The  author  interposed,  to  prevent  the  master 
from  fulfilling  his  humane  suggestion.  With  much  diffi- 
culty he  was  persuaded  to  wait  the  turn  of  events,  and 
not  to  unloose  the  door  that  night.  The  next  morning 
the  butcher  was  thoroughly  convinced.  Neither  he  nor 
his  family  had  been  able  to  get  any  rest  on  account  of 
the  dog's  cries ;  and  before  that  day  expired,  to  antici- 
pate the  poor  animal's  fate,  the  unfortunate  beast  was 
shot. 

In  this  case  the  dog  exhibited  no  malice,  neither  did  he 
appear  to  be  prompted  solely  by  mischief.  When  the 
muzzle  was  first  lowered  to  the  master's  boot,  the  poor 
animal  doubtless  was  moved  to  that  action  by  the  irre- 
sistible desire  natural  to  the  disease.  The  longing  was  to 
bite  something,  no  matter  what ;  any  object  must  be 
cooler  than  the  heat  that  burnt  within  the  wretched  crea- 
ture's throat  and  stomach.  The  teeth  were  impulsively 
prepared  to  bite,  but  between  the  desire  and  its  consum- 
mation, reflection  came.  The  affection  natural  to  the  dog 
acted  as  a  restraint.  It  was  unable  entirely  to  destroy 
the  prompting  of  disease,  but  it  turned  the  bite  which  it 
was  prepared  to  give  into  a  mumble,  and  the  loved 
master  escaped  unhurt. 


310  9  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

There  is  also  something  which  must  not  be  quite  over- 
looked in  the  habitual  wanderings  that,  as  the  disease 
grows  in  virulence  beyond  the  dog's  control,  causes  the 
animal  constantly  to  leave  the  home  within  which  its 
attachment  resides.  There  is  something  likewise  in  the 
disposition,  which  causes  the  poor  beast  to  quit  the 
society  of  all  it  loves ;  and  to  leave  the  house  in  which 
those  for  whom  its  life  would  cheerfully  be  sacrificed 
dwell,  to  inhabit  a  dark  and  noisome  corner.  It  is  not 
mischief  which  makes  the  creature  respond  to  its  master's 
voice  so  long  as  memory  has  power — even  after  rabies 
has  set  in.  There  is  no  malice  in  the  end  of  the  disease  ; 
it  is  blind  and  indiscriminate  fury,  which  would  much 
rather  vent  itself  on  things  than  upon  beings — even  find- 
ing an  unholy  pleasure  in  injuring  itself  by  gnawing, 
biting,  and  tearing  its  own  flesh ;  and  so  truly  is  the  fury 
blind,  that  most  frequently  the  eyes  ulcerate,  the  humors 
escape,  and  the  rabid  dog  becomes  actually  sightless. 

Of  the  causes  or  treatment  of  this  disorder  we  know- 
nothing  ;  neither  are  we  likely  to  learn,  when  the  nature 
of  the  disease  is  considered.  The  danger  of  the  study 
must  excuse  our  ignorance ;  nor  is  this  much  to  be  re- 
gretted, since  it  is  highly  improbable  that  medicine  could 
cure  what  is  so  deeply  seated  and  universally  present. 
The  entire  glandular  structure  seems  to  be  in  the  highest 
degree  inflamed ;  and  besides  these,  the  brain,  the  organs 
of  mastication,  deglutition,  digestion,  nutrition,  genera- 
tion, and  occasionally  of  respiration,  are  acutely  in- 
volved. The  entire  animal  is  inflamed.  Some  except 


DOGS:    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  311 

from  this  category  the  muscular  system  ;  but  such  per- 
sons forget  that  paralysis  of  the  hind  extremities  is  often 
present  during  rabies.  The  body  seems  to  be  yielded 
up  to  the  fury  of  the  disease,  and  it  obviously  would  be 
folly  trying  to  cure  a  malady  which  has  so  many  and 
such  various  organs  for  its  prey.  Neither  are  we  better 
informed  with  regard  to  the  causes  which  generate  the 
disease.  Hot  weather  has  been  imagined  to  influence  its 
development ;  but  this  belief  is  denied,  by  the  fact  that 
mad  dogs  are  quite  as  if  rot  more,  frequent  in  winter 
than  in  summer.  Abstinence  from  fluids  has  been 
thought  to  provoke  it ;  but  this  circumstance  will  hardly 
account  for  its  absence  in  the  arid  East,  and  its  presence 
in  a  country  so  well  watered  as  England,  especially 
when  the  unscrupulous  nature  of  the  dog's  appetite  is 
considered.  The  French  have  been  supposed  to  set 
this  latter  question  at  rest  by  a  cruelty,  miscalled  an  ex- 
periment. They  obtained  forty  dogs,  and  withheld  all 
drink  from  the  unhappy  beasts  till  they  died.  Not  one 
of  them,  however,  exhibited  rabies,  and  by  this  the 
French  philosophers  think  that  they  have  demonstrated 
that  the  disorder  is  not  caused  by  want  of  water.  No 
such  thing ;  they  have  proved  only  their  want  of  feel- 
ing, and  show  nothing  more  than  that  one  out  of  every 
forty  dogs  is  not  liable  to  be  attacked  with  rabies.  They 
have  demonstrated  that  the  utmost  malice  of  the  human 
being  can  be  vented  upon  his  poor  dumb  slave  without 
exciting  rabies.  They  have  made  plain  that  the  poor 
dog  can  endure  the  most  hellish  torments  the  mind  of 


312  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

man  can  invent  without  displaying  rabies.  They  have 
held  themselves  up  to  the  world,  and  in  their  book  have 
duly  reported  themselves  as  capable  of  perverting  sci- 
ence to  the  most  hideous  abuses,  and  under  its  name 
contemplating  acts  and  beholding  sufferings  at  which  the 
feelings  of  humanity  recoil  with  disgust. 

It  is  rarely  that  more  than  one  mad  dog  appears  at  a 
time  in  England ;  so,  to  perfect  their  experiment,  it 
would  be  requisite  for  the  French  philosophers  to  pro- 
cure all  the  specimens  of  the  canine  species  in  .this 
island,  and  doom  them  to  torture ;  since,  of  the  predis- 
posing disposition  or  circumstances  necessary  to  the  de- 
velopment of  this  disease,  man  knows  nothing.  Igno- 
rance is  not  to  be  concealed  under  the  practices  of  bar- 
barity. 

Irritation  or  teazing,  by  exciting  the  nervous  irrita- 
bility of  the  dog,  appears  more  likely  than  any  physical 
want  to  excite  rabies. 

TETANUS. — I  have  witnessed  no  case  of  this  descrip- 
tion in  the  dog.  Both  Blairie  and  Youatt  speak  of  tetanus 
as  extremely  rare  in  that  animal;  but  both  mention 
having  encountered  it,  and  that  it  was  in  every  instance 
fatal.  Since  such  is  its  termination,  I  am  in  no  hurry  to 
meet  with  it,  and  care  not  how  long  it  remains  a  stranger 
to  me.  If  any  of  my  readers  were  to  have  a  dog  sub- 
ject to  this  disease,  the  best  treatment  would  be  the  ap- 
plication of  ether  internally  as  medicine,  with  slops  or 
light  puddings  as  food.  The  effects  of  the  ether  ought 
to  be  kept  up  for  a  considerable  period  at  one  time,  and 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  313 

recommenced  so  soon  as  the  slightest  trace  of  the  dis- 
order reappears. 


GENERATIVE    ORGANS. MALE. 


THESE  parts  in  the  dogs  are  liable  to  various  diseases, 
among  the  most  common  of  which  is  a  thick  discharge, 
either  of  pus  or  of  impure  mucus.  Petted  animals  are 
very  frequently  thus  affected,  and  are  a  source  of  annoy- 
ance to  those  who  lap  them.  In  this  condition  they  also 
offend  the  ideas  of  propriety,  by  paying  certain  lingual 
attentions  to  themselves  without  regard  to  privacy.  The 
favourite  is  for  these  things  repeatedly  chid  and  thrust 
from  the  knee  ;  but  it  cannot  be  instructed  to  forego  the 
impulses  of  its  nature,  or  of  itself  to  restrain  the  symp- 
toms of  its  affliction.  Indeed,  the  dog  is  not  to  blame  ; 
the  fault  lies  with  the  owner. 

The  generative  organs,  in  the  male  of  the  canine  spe- 
cies, are  peculiarly  sympathetic  with  the  digestive  func- 
tions. This  is  so  with  man,  but  in  the  dog  it  is  much 
more  strongly  marked.  If  a  dog  become  from  bad  food 
affected  with  mange,  canker,  sore  feet,  &c.,  the  part  is 
never  cleanly.  When,  however,  the  animal  is  fat  and 
gross,  though  neither  mange,  canker,  nor  other  disease  be 
present,  the  organ  may,  nevertheless,  be  a  source  of  pain- 
ful irritation,  and  beyond  a  little  thin  fluid  about  the 
opening  of  the  prepuce,  there  will  be  nothing  to  attract 
attention. 

In  such  a  case  the  discharge  originally  is  thick  and 
mattery.  It  accumulates  upon  the  few  hairs  that  fringe 

14 


314  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

the  urinal  orifice,  and  sometimes  almost  impedes  the  pas- 
sage of  the  water.  The  symptom  being  neglected,  the 
running  becomes  less  consistent.  The  part  is  frequently- 
erect,  and  the  animal  persists  in  licking  it.  The  organ  is 
now  painful,  and  should  be  without  delay  attended  to. 
If,  however,  no  heed  be  taken  of  the  creature's  necessity, 
to  which  its  instinct  directs  the  proprietors  eye,  swellings 
appear  about  the  sheath,  and  blood  is  mingled  with  the 
exudation.  Sores  then  appear  externally,  and  the  mem- 
ber becomes  a  mass  of  acute  disease,  often  of  a  frightful 
character. 

If,  when  the  discharge  first  appears,  the  dog  be  taken 
on  the  knee,  and  its  back  being  slightly  bent,  so  as  to 
bring  the  hind-legs  forward — if,  having  the  animal  in  this 
position,  the  sheath  be  retracted,  so  as  to  expose  the 
glans,  it  is  generally  found  to  be  inflamed.  When  the 
case  is  slight,  the  inflammation  is  confined  to  the  base  of 
the  member,  just  around  that  part  where  the  lining  mem- 
brane is  reflected  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  prepuce. 
As  far  back,  therefore,  as  it  can  be  exposed,  a  little  red- 
ness may  be  discovered  ;  but  this  will  be  so  distributed 
as  to  convince  us  that  the  interior  of  the  sheath  is  also 
involved.  All  the  inflammation  that  can  be  detected 
will  not  be  sufficient  to  account  for  the  quantity  of  pus 
that  is  thrown  out ;  and  some  persons  have  therefore 
allowed  the  disease  to  progress,  imagining  there  was  no- 
thing present  requiring  to  be  treated.  This  is  always  a 
mistake.  The  lining  membrane  of  the  prepuce  in  these 
animals  cannot  be  readily  laid  bare,  and  that  part  is 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  315 

always  the  most  seriously  attacked.  The  penis  during 
health  ought  to  be  moist  and  of  a  delicate  flesh  color  ;  it 
should  not  be  wet,  neither  should  it  be  in  any  degree  red. 
The  appearance  ought  to  suggest  the  secluded  situation 
to  which  the  part  is  by  nature  assigned,  and  the  sensi- 
tiveness with  which  it  is  endued.  It  should  not  denote 
uncleanliness  or  anger  ;  but  convey  an  idea  of  delicacy, 
and  even  beauty,  to  those  who  have  good  sense  enough 
to  appreciate  nature's  provisions. 

When  the  want  of  early  attention  has  allowed  the 
structures  to  be  seriously  implicated,  ulcers  appear,  which 
enlarge,  and  ultimately  by  uniting  form  a  mass  of  sores. 
There  is  then  often  resistance  exhibited  when  the  part 
is  touched,  and  cries  declare  the  pain  which  pulling  back 
the  sheath  occasions.  The  prepuce  sometimes  is-  not  to 
be  withdrawn,  and  the  struggles  of  the  animal  are  exces- 
sive when  its  retraction  is  attempted.  There  are  then 
fungoid  growths  within,  and  the  heat  and  tenderness  de- 
note the  condition  of  the  surface,  which  cannot  without 
much  violence  be  beheld. 

All  this  suffering  is  to  be  traced  to  the  misplaced  kind- 
ness of  the  owner.  Over-feeding  is  the  cause  ;  and,  so 
far  as  I  know,  the  single  cause  which  gives  rise  to  the 
serious  aspect  of  this  form  of  disease.  Should  it  accom- 
pany debility,  it  is  mild  in  its  character,  and  as  the 
strength  returns  it  will  disappear.  Even  in  this  last  case, 
however,  it  would  be  more  certainly,  and  with  more 
speed  removed,  by  a  few  simple  measures  which  necessi- 
tate no  vast  trouble. 


316  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

In  its  mildest  shape,  any  astringent  eye-lotion  will 
generally  answer ;  but  the  strength  may  with  safety  and 
advantage  be  increased. 

1. 

Sulphate  of  copper  or  zinc     .     .     Five  grains. 
Distilled  water One  ounce. 

2. 

Liquor  plumbi One  drachm. 

Distilled  water One  ounce. 

3. 

Alum Half  a  scruple. 

Eose  water One  ounce. 

Either  of  the  foregoing  will  be  of  service ;  but   before 
any  of  them,  I  prefer  the  subjoined  : — 

Chloride  of  zinc One  grain. 

Distilled  water One  ounce. 

Whichever  of  the  lotions  the  practitioner  may  prefer, 
should  be  used  at  least  thrice  daily,  and  if  more  fre- 
quently employed,  no  injury  will  be  done.  The  mode  of 
applying  the  lotion  is  extremely  simple.  The  seat  of 
the  disease  being  exposed,  with  a  piece  of  lint  or  soft  rag 
the  fluid  is  passed  over  the  surface.  No  friction  is  resort- 
ed to ;  but  a  simple  bathing,  in  the  gentlest  possible  man- 
ner, is  all  that  can  be  required.  In  a  few  days  the  effect 
will  be  perceived,  for  by  such  means  the  affection  can  be 
cured ;  but  unless  the  food  is  improved,  and  the  diges- 


DOGS  '.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  317 

tion  relieved,  there  can  be  no  security  against  its  speedy 
return. 

Under  its  more  virulent  form  it  is  not  to  be  thus  easily 
got  rid  of,  though  even  then  it  is  to  be  subdued.  If 
there  be  much  pain,  I  inject  the  lotion  up  the  sheath, 
and  by  closing  the  orifice  around  the  point  of  the  sy- 
ringe, endeavor  to  pass  the  fluid  over  the  whole  of  the 
interior.  Sometimes  the  pain  or  irritation  is  excessive  : 
I  then  combine  sedatives  with  the  lotions,  and  their 
strength  I  increase  as  the  occasion  warrants;  but  the 
non-professional  person  had  better  use  none  more  potent 
than  one  drachm  of  tincture  of  opium  to  every  ounce  of 
lotion.  When  the  pain,  decreasing,  allows  the  penis  to 
be  protruded,  if  any  sprouting  fungus  or  proud  flesh  is 
upon  it,  a  pair  of  scissors  should  be  used  to  snip  it  off. 
Some  bleeding  will  ensue,  but  a  little  burnt  alum  will 
generally  stay  it ;  though,  if  allowed  to  continue,  I  have 
thought  the  local  depletion  was  beneficial,  and  it  has 
never  to  my  knowledge  been  attended  with  danger.  The 
burnt  alum  I  use  in  powder,  and  I  prefer  it  in  these 
cases  to  the  lunar  caustic  ;  which  gives  more  pain ;  acts 
less  immediately  as  a  styptic,  and  is  not  so  satisfactory 
in  its  subsequent  effects,  and,  as  the  animal  can  hardly 
be  kept  from  licking  the  place,  it  may  possibly  be  objec- 
tionable on  that  account.  Such  treatment  usually  is 
beneficial ;  and  the  only  further  direction  to  be  added 
concerns  such  minor  points  as  reason  probably  would 
not  need  to  have  specially  pointed  out. 

When  the  hairs  at  the  orifice  are  matted  together,  it  is 


318  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

best  to  snip  them  away,  which  will  not  only  remove  a 
present  inconvenience,  but  effectually  prevent  its  recur- 
rence. The  wounds  which  occasionally  cover  the  ex- 
terior of  the  sheath  are  of  no  vast  importance,  or,  at 
all  events,  they  are  of  secondary  consideration.  With 
the  healing  of  the  inward  sores  they  mostly  depart ;  but 
their  disappearance  will  be  hastened,  and  the  comfort  of 
the  animal  improved,  if,  when  the  injection  is  used,  they 
are  at  the  same  time  smeared  with  some  mild  ointment. 
Tnat  composed  of  camphor,  &c.,  and  to  be  found  de- 
scribed at  page  2G5,  does  very  well  for  such  a  purpose  ; 
but  any  other  of  a  gentle  nature  would  probably  answer 
as  well. 

Soreness  of  the  scrotum  is  very  common,  and  I  have 
seen  it  in  every  description  of  dog.  I  attribute  it  to 
derangement  of  the  digestion  ;  never  having  witnessed  it 
in  animals  that  were  not  thus  affected,  and  not  having 
been  able  to  discover  it  had  any  more  immediate  origin. 
It  mostly  appears  first  as  a  redness,  which  soon  becomes 
covered  with  small  pimples,  that  break  and  discharge  a 
thin  watery  fluid.  The  fluid  coagulates,  and  a  thin  scab 
covers  the  surface.  The  scab  is  generally  detached, 
being  retained  only  by  the  straggling  hairs  that  grow 
upon  the  bag.  The  scab  being  removed,  shows  a  moist 
and  unhealthy  patch,  the  margin  of  which  is  of  a  faint 
dirty  red  color. 

This  condition  of  the  scrotum  yields,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  simple  applications  j  but,  should  nothing  be 
done,  it  will  continue  bad  for  some  period,  and  may  in- 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  319 

volve  the  whole  of  the  bag.  It  will,  in  most  instances, 
so  far  as  the  outward  and  more  acute  symptom  is  con- 
cerned ;  that  is,  the  discharge  will  cease,  the  scab  fall  off, 
and  nothing  be  left  for  the  eye  to  dwell  upon.  "With  the 
seeming  cessation,  however,  other  and  more  deep-seated 
structures  become  involved.  The  disease  leaves  the 
surface  only,  and  its  virulence  fixes  upon  the  internal 
parts.  The  skin  at  the  place  thickens,  becomes  hard  and 
gristly.  There  is  no  pain  ;  but  the  sensation  is  diminish- 
ed, which,  to  the  surgeon,  is  a  far  worse  sign  than  is  a 
little  anguish.  The  thickening  is  sometimes  stationary  ; 
and  the  animal  dies  without  any  further  evil  afflicting 
him.  There  is,  however,  no  security  that  it  will  remain 
thus  passive  ;  for  occasionally  it  increases  in  size,  in- 
flames, gets  hurt  or  rubbed,  and  ulcerates  :  in  fact,  can- 
cer of  the  scrotum  is  established  ;  and  as  this  mostly 
comes  on  when  the  constitution  is  weakened,  little  relief 
and  no  promise  of  cure  can  generally  be  afforded. 

These  cancers  do  not  appear  to  burst  of  themselves. 
They  get  sensation  as  they  inflame  ;  but  in  every  instance 
that  has  fallen  under  my  notice,  before  ulceration  has 
taken  place,  they  have  been  slightly  wounded  ;  either 
by  the  dog's  dragging  himself  upon  the  earth,  or  other- 
wise. The  smallest  injury,  however,  is  sufficient  to  pro- 
voke the  action,  which  when  once  excited  is  not  after- 
wards to  be  subdued.  The  ulcer  being  established,  en- 
larges ;  and  the  humanity  of  the  owner  does  not  allow 
the  lingering  and  disgusting  disease  to  take  its  course, 
but  the  poor  dog  is  destroyed  to  spare  its  suffering. 


320  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

At  the  commencement  the  diet  must  be  changed,  for 
the  manner  of  feeding  is  at  fault.  The  remedies  proper 
to  improve  the  general  health  must  be  employed,  and 
everything  done  to  restore  the  system. 

To  the  scrotum  a  mild  ointment  will  be  sufficient. 
Should  that  not  succeed,  some  of  those  recommended 
for  mange  may  be  tried  ;  or  the  surface  may  be  lightly 
passed  over  once  with  a  stick  of  lunar  caustic,  care  being 
taken  to  tie  the  head  of  the  dog  up  afterwards  to  prevent 
it  licking  the  part. 

The  measures  already  spoken  of  apply  only  to  mild 
and  recent  cases.  When  the  disease  has  probably  exist- 
ed for  years,  such  remedies  will  be  of  little  service.  The 
skin  being  unnaturally  hard  and  thick,  feeling  like  carti- 
lage, and  giving  the  idea  that  a  firm  or  resistant  tumor  is 
connected  with  the  integument  ;  such  being  the  condition 
of  the  part,  the  surgeon  pauses  before  he  advises  it 
should  be  interfered  with.  As  it  seems  to  be  possessed 
of  small  sensibility,  and  appears  to  have  assumed  a  form 
in  which  there  is  a  probability  of  its  remaining,  the  less 
done  to  the  local  affection  the  better. 

The  relief  should  be  directed  wholly  to  keep  the  can- 
cer, for  such  it  is,  in  a  passive  or  quiescent  state.  There 
is  no  hope  that  nature  will  remove  it ;  and  every  effort 
must  be  made  to  prevent  its  malignant  character  being  by 
accident  or  ot-herwise  provoked.  "With  a  little  care  the 
dog  may  die  of  old  age,  and  the  disease  may  even  at  the 
time  of  death  be  dormant.  A  very  mild  mercurial  oint- 
ment may  be  daily  applied  to  the  surface.  This  will  re- 


DOGS  !    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  321 

move  scurf,  allay  irritability,  and  prevent  the  itching, 
which  might  induce  the  animal  to  injure  the  part.  The 
food  must  be  good,  proportioned  to  the  work  the  creature 
has  to  perform, — sufficiently  nutritive,  but  easy  of  diges- 
tion, and  by  no  means  heating.  The  stomach  must  be 
strengthened  by  tonics  and  vegetable  bitters,  combined 
with  alkalies.  Sedatives  are  sometimes  required,  and 
hyosciamus  is  in  that  case  to  be  preferred.  A  course  of 
iodide  of  potassium  is  likewise  frequently  beneficial ;  but 
it  must  be  employed  only  in  alterative  doses,  and  perse- 
vered with  for  a  considerable  period.  The  eighth  of  a 
grain  or  half-a-grain  may  be  given  three  times  a  day  for 
six  months  ;  and  on  the  first  indication  of  irritability 
appearing,  the  medicine  must  be  resumed.  Should  the 
symptoms  of  activity  be  such  as  to  excite  alarm,  the 
iodide  must  be  administered  in  quantities  likely  to  affect 
the  system.  This  is  to  be  done  with  safety,  by  dissolv- 
ing two  drachms  of  the  salt  in  two  ounces  of  water, 
every  drop  of  which  will  then  hold  in  solution  the  eighth 
of  a  grain  of  the  medicine.  From  two  to  ten  drops  may 
be  given  at  the  commencement,  and  every  day  afterwards 
one  drop  may  be  added  to  the  dose,  which  should  be 
regularly  administered  thrice  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 
The  physic  should  thus  be  gradually  increased  until  the 
appetite  fails  ;  or  the  eyes  become  inflamed  ;  or  the  ani- 
mal is  in  an  obvious  degree  dull.  When  that  result  is 
obtained,  the  dose  ought  to  be  withheld  for  a  time,  or  to 
be  diminished  three  or  twelve  drops,  and  the  lessened 
quantity  only  given  until  the  symptoms  have  subsided. 

14* 


322  DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

The  spirits,  or  appetite,  having  returned,  and  sufficient 
time  having  been  allowed  to  make  certain  of  the  fact, 
the  dose  may  once  more  be  increased  ;  and  thus  by  de- 
grees be  augmented,  until  it  is  worked  up  to  from  fifty  to 
a  hundred  drops  three  times  a  day,  beyond  which  it 
ought  not  to  be  pushed.  Even  while  this  is  being  done, 
it  is  well  to  give  tonic  and  strengthening  pills  ;  but  pur- 
gatives are  to  be  used  with  extreme  caution. 

Too  frequently  our  assistance  is  not  sought  until  the 
disease  has  assumed  its  worst  aspect.  There  is  then  an 
open  cancer,  and  we  are  asked  to  cure  it.  There  is  in 
medicine  no  known  means  of  performing  so  desirable  an 
object ;  physic  can,  in  such  a  case,  only  be  palliative — 
whatever  hope  then  remains  must  rest  upon  the  employ- 
ment of  the  knife.  The  surgeon,  however,  must  well 
examine  the  part  before  he  consents  to  operate.  En- 
treaties will  not  unfrequently  be  urgent ;  and  where  the 
life  of  an  animal  only  is  involved  in  the  result,  it  is  hard 
to  say  "  no"  to  supplications  which  may  be  accompanied 
with  tears.  The  professional  man,  however,  must  con- 
sult his  judgment,  and  by  its  dictates  resolutely  abide  ; 
for  those  who  are  most  eager  in  their  requests  are  always 
most  sanguine  in  their  hopes.  The  issue,  if  unsuccessful, 
will  not  do  otherwise  than  expose  the  surgeon  to  re- 
proaches, perhaps  more  bitter  than  the  supplications  to 
which  he  yielded  were  imploring.  Even  should  the 
proprietor  be  silent,  the  reputation  of  the  operator  will 
be  injured  ;  for,  when  the  knife  is  resorted  to,  mankind 
will  not  tolerate  failure.  Therefore  it  is  prudent,  and 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  323 

also  humane,  to  consider  how  far  surgery  can  eradicate 
the  affection  ere  excision  is  employed  to  add  to  the  im- 
mediate suffering,  and  perhaps  hasten  the  consequence  it 
was  designed  to  prevent. 

The  tumor  should  he  circumscribed,  or,  at  all  events, 
there  should  he  around  it  a  fair  proportion  of  healthy 
skin  whenever  its  removal  is  attempted.  When  such  ex- 
ists, the  operation  is  justifiable ;  but  without  such  being 
present,  it  is  to  be  condemned.  The  skin  is  wanted  to 
close  the  orifice,  and  it  must  be  healthy,  in  order  that  it 
may  properly  unite.  In  extreme  cases,  where  the  life 
of  the  animal  depends  upon  activity,  it  may  be  proper  to 
remove  both  testicles;  but  this  should,  if  possible,  be 
avoided. 

Castration  in  the  dog  is  not  of  itself  dangerous  ;  but 
it  renders  the  animal  disposed  to  accumulate  fat,  and 
destroys  many  of  those  qualities  for  which  it  is  esteemed. 
The  creature  afterwards  becomes  lethargic,  and  its  spi- 
rits never  are  recovered.  It  is  best  performed  by  cutting 
through  the  spermatic  nerve,  and  scraping  the  artery,  so 
as  to  separate  it ;  taking  care  to  do  this  sufficiently  high 
up  to  prevent  the  cord  from  being  exposed. 

When  the  operator  has  decided  to  take  away  the 
spermatic  glands,  he  does  so  at  the  commencement  of  the 
operation.  With  one  cut  he  lays  the  scrotum  open,  and 
pulling  forth  the  testicle,  divides  the  nerve  ;  then  with 
the  edge  of  a  blunt  but  coarse  knife,  scrapes  it  as  the 
cords  lie  upon  his  finger.  Having  done  this  on  one  or 
both  sides,  as  the  case  may  require,  he  inspects  the  tu- 


324  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

mor,  the  substance  of  which  is  now  exposed  to  view. 
By  the  aspect  of  the  growth  he  decides  upon  the  course 
he  will  next  adopt  j  or  rather  shapes  the  manner  he  had 
proposed  to  proceed.  Seldom  will  it  occasion  him  to 
change  his  plan  ;  but  he  must  be  prepared  to  do  so,  if 
the  appearances  -should  be  contrary  to  his  anticipations. 
The  skin  is  here  of  primary  importance  ;  wherever  it  is 
not  involved,  it  is  dissected  back,  and  every  portion  of 
hard  or  gristly  matter  scrupulously  sought  for  and  cut 
away.  All  such  substance  being  excised,  care  is  then 
directed  to  bring  the  edges  together.  A  pair  of  scissors 
may  be  required  to  make  them  exactly  even,  but  the  less 
snipping  there  may  be  the  better.  To  retain  the  lips  of 
the  wound  in  the  places  desired,  collodium  will  be  found 
far  superior  to  sutures  or  plasters.  It  is  with  a  camel's 
hair  pencil  laid  in  bands  along  the  parts,  which  are  held 
in  their  intended  situations  while  it  dries.  A  few  threads 
of  linen  are  embedded  in  it  while  it  is  in  a  liquid  state, 
so  as  to  increase  its  strength  j  and  layer  after  layer  is 
added  until  the  mind  is  assured  the  purpose  is  obtained. 
The  application  must  on  no  account  be  made  in  one  con- 
tinuous sheet ;  for  before  union  can  take  place  suppu- 
ration must  be  established,  and  spaces  are  necessary  to 
allow  the  matter  to  escape.  Therefore,  in  several  fine 
strips  stretching  over  the  wound,  and  holding  its  edges 
close,  the  collodium  is  to  be  employed ;  and  this  being 
ended,  subsequent  attention  is  generally  required  only  to 
regulate  the  health,  on  which  the  healing  process  will 
greatly  depend. 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  325 

To  stone  in  the  bladder  the  dog  is  liable.  The  cause 
cannot  be  directly  traced,  but  the  symptoms  are  not  ob- 
scure ;  the  animal  is  constantly  voiding  its  urine,  which, 
though  small  in  quantity,  is  not  of  a  healthy  character. 
A  few  drops  of  blood  occasionally  are  passed  ;  and,  in 
attempting  to  go  down  stairs,  sudden  cries  are  often 
emitted.  Fits  of  pain  and  seasons  of  illness  are  fre- 
quent, and  the  point  of  the  penis  is  protruded  from  the 
sheath,  never  being  withdrawn.  The  leg  is  not  raised  to 
void  the  urine  ;  but  the  creature  strains  when  the  act  has 
either  been  accomplished,  or  there  is  no  power  to  per- 
form it.  If  the  dog  be  taken  on  the  knee,  and  one 
knowing  the  situation  of  the  contents  gently  manipulates 
the  abdomen,  the  body  may  be  felt  within  the  bladder, 
which  will  mostly  be  contracted  and  empty. 

The  nature  of  the  disease  having  been  ascertained, 
little  can  be  done  beyond  relieving  the  immediate  dis- 
tress. Some  writers  have  given  directions  for  operating 
under  such  circumstances  ;  but  none  of  them  tell  us  they 
have  successfully  performed  lithotomy  upon  the  animal. 
In  every  case  of  the  kind  upon  which  I  have  been  con- 
sulted, the  idea  of  such  a  measure  was  not  for  an  instant 
to  be  countenanced.  Dogs  thus  afflicted,  are  mostly 
small,  and  the  calculus  is  generally  of  great  proportional 
size,  prior  to  our  attention  being  directed  to  it.  In  a 
creature  so  very  delicate  as  the  dog,  every  operation 
requires  to  be  well  considered  before  it  is  resorted  to ; 
and  though  the  cutler  might  make  knives  sufficiently 
diminutive  for  the  occasion,  it  may  be  doubted  if  our 


326  DOGS:    THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

hands  are  sufficiently  nice  to  employ  them.  The  stones 
I  have  met  with  were  of  a  size  I  would  not  have  liked 
to  have  drawn  through  the  urethra ;  and  therefore, 
though  I  will  not  assert  lithotomy  cannot  be  performed 
upon  the  dog,  I  must  confess  I  have  not  performed  it, 
and  must  say  I  should  require  strong  inducements  to 
attempt  it  upon  the  animal. 

All  I  aim  at  is  to  limit  the  increase  of  the  deposit,  and 
to  alleviate  the  painful  symptoms  it  gives  rise  to.  A 
strictly  vegetable  diet  best  accomplishes  the  first  object, 
and  doses  of  ether  and  laudanum,  repeatedly  administered 
by  mouth  and  injection,  most  speedily  secure  the  second. 
Pills  of  henbane  are  likewise  of  service;  and  with  them 
small  quantities  of  the  balsams  may  be  combined,  though 
the  last  should  not  be  continued  if  they  have  any  marked 
diuretic  action.  The  peppers,  especially  cubebs,  I  have 
thought  serviceable,  and  very  minute  doses  of  cantharides 
have  seemed  to  be  attended  with  benefit.  Here,  how- 
ever, I  speak  with  doubt;  for  the  agents  have  by  me 
been  employed  only  in  homoeopathic  quantities,  and  I 
have  not  the  means  of  saying  they  had  very  decided 
action.  They  appeared  to  do  good,  since  under  their 
use  the  animals  improved ;  and  that  is  all  I  can  state  in 
their  behalf.  Proprietors,  however,  when  the  pressing 
annoyance  is  allayed,  being  told  there  is  no  prospect  of  a 
radical  cure,  do  not  generally  afford  us  much  opportunity 
to  watch  the  action  of  medicines. 

Haematuria  or  bloody  urine  is  met  with  in  the  dog ;  and 
I  (having  been  unfortunate  in  those  cases  where  I 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  327 

employed  acetate  of  lead)  adopted  small  doses  of  cantha- 
rides,  and  with  these  to  my  surprise  succeeded  ;  for  which 
reason  I  have  persevered  in  my  homoeopathic  treat- 
ment. The  quantity  of  tincture  of  cantharides  I  employ 
is  three  minims  to  two  ounces  of  water,  and  to  my  won- 
der, this  appears  to  answer  every  purpose ;  the  only 
fault,  indeed,  that  a  general  practitioner  might  find  with 
it  being  that  it  did  its  work  too  quickly. 

Swelling  of  the  glans  penis  is  not  uncommon.  It 
comes  on  suddenly,  and  the  dog  is  by  it  rendered  offen- 
sive to  the  owner's  sight.  The  membrane  is  in  a  state  of 
erection,  and  being  so,  is  of  course  protruded  ;  and  while 
thus  exposed,  the  end  of  it  loses  its  mild  red  color,  becom- 
ing of  a  paler  hue,  and  at  the  same  time  enlarging.  Its 
dze  increases  to  such  an  extent,  that  when  the  erection 
subsides,  it  cannot  be  retracted. 

This  generally  happens  to  animals  that  are  weakly ; 
such  being  of  what  are  called  high  breeds,  or  having 
recovered  from  some  dangerous  disorder.  It  is  not  a 
dangerous  affection,  and  if  taken  early  is  very  easily  sub- 
dued. With  a  silk  handkerchief,  the  exposed  part  should 
be  grasped  by  the  left  hand ;  and  while  every  means  is 
employed  to  push  the  gland  back,  the  fingers  of  the 
right  hand  ought  to  be  used,  to  draw  the  prepuce  over  it. 
A  little  time  and  care  will,  in  most  instances,  do  what  is 
desired  ;  and  there  is  no  need  of  haste,  or  justification  for 
violence.  Oil  is  not  required,  as  the  parts  are  sufficiently 
lubricated  by  their  own  secretion ;  and  still  less  are  those 
practices  some  persons  have  advocated,  admissible. 


328  DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

The  scarification  of  the  glans,  or  the  slitting  of  the 
prepuce,  should  not  ever  be  allowed,  save  the  absolute 
failure  of  all  other  measures  has  demonstrated  relief  is 
not  otherwise  to  be  procured.  Before  these  severe  re- 
sorts are  sanctioned,  the  effects  of  cold  and  stimulants, 
locally  applied,  ought  to  be  fully  and  patiently  tried.  A 
lotion  containing  ether,  in  such  proportions  as  water  will 
dissolve  it,  should  be  applied  to  the  part ;  and  spirit  of 
nitric  ether,  to  which  double  its  amount  of  proof  spirit 
has  been  added,  may  be  with  a  camel's  hair  pencil  paint- 
ed over  its  surface.  Ice  is  even  better,  but  both,  accord- 
ing as  they  can  be  readily  obtained,  are  beneficial.  Gen- 
tle manipulations  will  also  be  of  benefit,  and  if  the 
patience  of  the  practitioner  be  not  too  easily  exhaust- 
ed, he  will  rarely  need  more  to  bring  about  that  which 
is  desired. 

Retention  of  urine,  though  not  very  common  in  the 
dog,  is,  however,  encountered  too  frequently  to  be  term- 
ed a  rare  affection.  It  mostly  accompanies  debility, 
during  the  last  stage  of  distemper,  and  is  sometimes 
present  in  paralysis  of  the  hind  extremities.  I  have  not 
seen  a  case  in  which  it  took  the  acute  form,  though 
obviously  it  may  do  so. 

The  symptoms  generally  are  obscure  ;  for  in  the  ma- 
jority of  instances  the  distension  of  the  bladder  will 
simply  aggravate  the  general  uneasiness.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  part,  therefore,  may  not  be  suspected,  but  in 
such  cases  it  is  to  be  ascertained  by  manipulation.  By 
taking  the  animal,  and  gently  pressing  its  abdomen,  if 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  329 

the  bladder  be  empty,  the  intestines  will  be  felt ;  but  if 
the  viscus  be  full,  there  will  be  a  soft  and  pulpy  mass 
under  the  fingers.  The  sensation  imparted  by  it  con- 
veys the  idea  that  it  is  fluici,  and  the  greatest  care  will 
in  it  detect  nothing  denoting  substance  or  form.  The 
proof  thus  obtained  is  positive,  and  will  not  deceive 
him  who  has  accepted  it.  All  pretending  to  adminis- 
ter to  canine  disease  should  be  able  to  read  this  indi- 
cation, but  sometimes  others  direct  attention  to  its  pre- 
sence. 

The  dog  having  the  bladder  gorged,  and  not  so  debili- 
tated as  to  be  deprived  of  power  to  move,  or  by  paralysis 
disabled,  mostly  lies,  but  even  then  it  is  never  at  rest. 
The  position  is  constantly  shifted.  Food  and  drink  are 
refused,  great  dulness  is  exhibited,  and  a  low  plaintive 
moan  is  from  time  to  time  emitted.  If  made  to  walk, 
the  animal  straddles  the  hind-legs,  and  its  gait  is  pecu- 
liar. The  spine  is  arched,  but  the  posterior  limbs  are 
not  drawn  or  carried  forward.  If  pressure  is  made  upon 
the  belly,  it  provokes  resistance ;  and  any  attempt  to 
raise  the  dog  from  the  ground  induces  it  to  struggle. 

Relief  should  without  loss  of  time  be  afforded  by  the 
use  of  the  catheter.  When  I  was  a  pupil  at  the  college, 
the  professor  used  to  assert  that  the  introduction  of  such 
an  instrument  was  in  the  dog  a  physical  impossibility. 
The  bone  found  in  the  penis  of  this  animal,  the  gentle- 
man instructed  his  pupils  to  believe,  opposed  an  obstacle 
which  could  not  be  overcome.  My  former  teacher,  how- 
ever, was  in  error.  He  had  either  never  made  the  trial, 


330  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

or  he  had  not  judgment  sufficient  to  conduct  an  opera- 
tion which,  when  properly  undertaken,  is  remarkably- 
easy  and  simple.  I  believe  I  was  the  first  practitioner 
in  England  who  used  the  catheter  for  the  dog,  though 
prior  to  my  doing  so,  reports  were  published  of  the  in- 
strument having  been  employed  in  France.  On  the  Con- 
tinent, however,  I  have  heard  of  no  one  who  had  thought 
of  introducing  a  catheter  into  the  bladder  of  the  bitch. 
That  also  I  have  done  ;  and  find  the  operation  to  be  un- 
attended with  danger  or  difficulty.  The  method  of  ope- 
rating upon  the  female  will  be  explained  in  another 
place.  Here  I  have  to  speak  of  the  mode  in  which  the 
male  is  to  be  relieved. 

Let  the  dog  be  placed  upon  its  side,  and  by  means  of  a 
handkerchief  the  penis  be  drawn.  A  catheter  of  propor- 
tionate size  must  be  selected.  Metallic  tubes  will  not 
do  ;  but  the  gum  elastic  are  to  be  employed.  Before 
one  of  these  is  introduced,  the  wire  must  be  taken  out, 
and  the  outer  surface  moistened  with  olive  oil. 

The  human  catheters  answer  admirably  for  small  dogs  ; 
but  these  are  not  made  long  enough  to  be  of  service  to 
animals  of  the  larger  kinds.  For  a  dog  of  middle  height, 
an  instrument  twice  the  length  of  those  employed  on 
man  ought  to  be  at  hand  ;  and  for  a  huge  Newfoundland, 
one  thrice  as  long  will  be  useful.  The  shorter  catheters 
may  be  of  the  sizes  sold  as  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3  ;  the  middle 
length,  4  and  5  ;  the  longest,  Nos.  6,  7,  and  8. 

The  dog  being  placed  upon  its  side,  and  retained  there 
in  a  position  such  as  the  operator  may  think  most  advan- 


DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  331 

tageous  to  his  movements,  the  catheter  is  introduced  with 
one  hand  while  the  penis  is  held  by  the  other.  The 
meatus  being  found — there  is  no  great  ingenuity  required 
to  discover  it — the  instrument  is  inserted  and  pushed 
gently  onward.  At  first  its  passage  is  easy,  but  it  has 
not  gone  far  before  a  check  is  felt.  The  stoppage  arises 
from  the  spasmodic  contraction  of  the  canal,  caused  by 
the  point  of  the  instrument  having  reached  the  bone  of 
the  penis.  For  a  period  the  passage  is  effectually  closed ; 
but  no  force  must  be  employed  to  overcome  the  obstacle. 
Gentle  but  steady  pressure  is  kept  up ;  and  under  this  it 
is  rarely  longer  than  a  few  minutes  before  the  spasm 
yields.  The  catheter  then  glides  forward,  and  the  opera- 
tor, resigning  the  hold  of  the  penis  to  his  assistant,  passes 
his  free  hand  to  the  perinaeum.  When  he  feels  the  point 
of  the  tube  below  the  anus,  he  uses  his  fingers  to  direct 
its  course, — for  at  this  part  the  canal  curves,  taking  a 
direction  forward, — and  after  a  little  further  way  has 
been  made,  another  check  is  experienced.  This  last 
springs  from  the  contraction  of  the  neck  of  the  bladder ; 
and  once  more  gentle,  but  steady  pressure  must  be 
employed  to  overcome  the  spasm.  It  rarely  resists  long ; 
but  the  sudden  absence  of  all  opposition,  and  the  flow  of 
urine,  shows  that  the  object  of  the  operation  has  been 
obtained. 

The  dog  offers  no  resistance  to  the  passage  of  the 
instrument.  I  have  never  known  one  to  cry,  or  seen 
one  exhibit  a  struggle.  I  could  not  account  for  this  by 
attributing  it  to  any  fondness  for  the  necessary  restraint, 


332  DOG?:    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

under  winch  the  creature  is  temporarily  placed.  During 
the  flowing  of  the  urine,  the  dog  invariably  remains  per- 
fectly quiet ;  and  the  relief  afforded  seems  to  dispose  it 
almost  to  sleep  ;  for  after  it  is  over,  the  animal  lies  in  a 
kind  of  happy  lethargy.  The  fluid,  however,  does  not 
jet  forth  or  empty  quickly.  The  operator  must  not  be 
impatient,  for  the  stream  is  perfectly  passive ;  since,  in 
consequence  of  the  distension,  the  bladder  has  lest  its 
contractive  power.  To  obtain  the  whole  of  the  contents, 
has  sometimes  required  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  the 
quantity  procured  has  frequently  been  quite  dispropor- 
tioned  to  the  size  of  the  patient.  From  a  small  petted 
spaniel,  brought  under  my  notice  by  my  friend,  Mr. 
Henderson,  I  extracted  very  nearly  half  a  pint  of  urine, 
and  the  animal  from  that  period  began  to  get  well.  From 
a  very  small  dog,  the  property  of  a  lady  of  fortune,  I  for 
several  days,  every  night  and  morning,  withdrew  about 
four  ounces  of  the  excretion  with  marked  benefit  to  the 
animal.  The  operation  is  tedious,  but  it  repays  us  for 
the  time  it  occupies.  Towards  the  conclusion  the  stream 
is  frequently  interrupted.  It  stops,  then  recommences  ; 
ceases,  and  then  begins  again ;  and  the  last  portions  are 
often  ejected  with  a  force  which  the  first  did  not  display. 
A  little  straining  may  attend  the  closing  of  the  operation. 
For  this  the  operator  must  be  prepared,  and  immediately 
withdraw  the  catheter;  lest  the  bladder,  energetically 
contracting  upon  it,  should  cause  the  point  to  pierce  the 
sides  of  the  viscus.  The  instrument  is  no  longer  required 
when  straining  is  excited ;  for  then  the  contractive  func- 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  333 

tion  has  been  resumed,  and  nature  will  subsequently  per- 
form her  office  without  assistance. 

The  bladder  that  has  been  relieved,  may  require  the 
care  of  the  surgeon  a  second  time ;  but  no  officiousness 
should  be  indulged  in  that  respect.  Let  the  necessity  be 
present  before  the  operation  is  resorted  to ;  and  the  need 
for  its  adoption  can  be  so  accurately  ascertained,  that 
there  is  no  excuse  whatever  for  needless  interference. 
The  operation  is  attended  with  no  immediate  danger  or 
subsequent  ill  consequences,  that  I  am  aware  of;  but  it 
is  particularly  recommended  by  the  fact,  that  in  the  dog 
it  is  not  accompanied  with  that  pain,  which  in  man 
usually  provokes  exclamation,  sometimes  causes  fainting, 
and  not  unfrequently  induces  irritability  of  the  membrane 
lining  the  canal. 

The  testicles  are  occasionally  the  sources  of  annoyance 
to  the  proprietor.  In  one  instance  a  high-bred  dog  was 
sold,  the  person  who  bought  the  animal  making  the  pur- 
chase with  a  view  to  breeding  from  it.  Disappointment 
followed,  for  no  sexual  desire  could  be  excited  ;  and  as  a 
stock-dog,  the  beast  was  useless.  An  examination  was 
then  made,  and  the  scrotum  was  discovered  to  contain  no 
glands. 

A  most  infamous  fraud  was  now  accused  against  him 
who  had  sold  the  dog;  and  as  dog-dealers  are  not  so 
respectable,  and  are  almost  as  little  credited  as  horse- 
dealers,  any  charge  imputing  dishonesty  required  no  evi- 
dence to  substantiate  it.  An  infamous  villain  was  con- 
victed of  having  castrated  the  dog  before  he  parted  with 


334  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

it,  in  order  that  a  valuable  strain  might  not  be  rendered 
common.  This  same  dog  was  brought  to  me.  I  could 
detect  no  testicles,  and  I  could  perceive  no  cicatrix.  The 
body  was  fat  and  the  disposition  sluggish,  but  the  frame 
well  developed.  It  was  possible  the  scar,  if  the  opera- 
tion had  been  performed  early,  should  have  disappeared : 
and  there  are  means  practised  by  which  the  testicles  can 
be  in  a  great  measure  destroyed  without  making  an  inci- 
sion. Here,  however,  there  was  nothing  to  denote  they 
had  been  present ;  or  evidence  to  show  they  had  been 
removed.  I  could  by  manipulation  discover  no  bodies  in 
the  inguinal  canals.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  was 
unable  to  give  a  positive  opinion ;  but  I  leant  to  the  idea 
that  the  appearances  resulted  from  defective  conforma- 
tion. 

My  indecision  exposed  me  to  some  remarks  at  the 
time  ;  for  the  veterinary  surgeon  is  never  permitted  to 
doubt.  Ignorance  is  the  only  reason  the  majority  of  his 
patrons  can  conceive  to  account  for  his  deliberation.  A 
year  subsequent,  however,  the  dog  died  ;  and  the  body 
was  then  brought  to  me,  in  order  that  the  point  might  be 
decided.  I  found  both  glands,  which  were  not  larger 
than  they  should  have  been  at  birth,  within  the  abdo- 
men, whence  they  never  had  descended. 

It  is  very  common  to  find  small  dogs,  especially  spa- 
niels and  terriers,  with  only  one  testicle  in  the  scrotum  ; 
but  in  the  larger  number  of  such  cases  the  other  can  be 
detected,  though  it  will  be  of  small  size,  within  the 
canal.  Animals  in  this  condition  are  quite  capable  of 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  335 

being  used  as  stock-dogs,  and  are  for  such  purposes  as 
certain,  as  those  more  perfectly  formed.  Of  this  I  have 
had  repeated  proofs ;  and,  consequently,  the  absence  of 
one  gland  is  not  to  be  viewed  as  a  serious  defect ; 
though  I  do  not  know  that  it  can  be  regarded  in  the 
light  of  a  recommendation.  Speaking  from  observation, 
and  bringing  the  results  of  positive  experience  to  bear 
upon  my  opinion,  I  may  assert,  that  in  diminutive  dogs 
— animals  intended  only  to  be  esteemed  as  "  toys," — the 
absence  of  one  testicle  is  not  of  the  slightest  import ; 
though,  in  the  larger  breeds  intended  for  actual  work,  I 
should  by  no  means  be  inclined  so  to  regard  it. 

The  testicles  are  also  subject  to  enlarge  and  become 
hard,  more  than  is  natural.  In  that  state  they  most  fre- 
quently are  devoid  of  sensation ;  though  sometimes,  but 
rarely,  they  are  unnaturally  tender.  The  size  and  de- 
gree of  feeling  may  be  the  only  indications  ;  but  gene- 
rally the  scrotum  is  at  the  same  time  thickened,  and  ex- 
hibits an  alteration  in  structure. 

Blaine  speaks  of  castration  under  such  circumstances. 
I  have  hitherto  abstained  from  direct  interference.  Not- 
withstanding the  alteration,  which  has  been  obvious,  I 
have,  beyond  daily  rubbing  in  the  ointment,  containing 
camphor  and  mercury,  resorted  to  no  topical  application. 
In  one  instance  I  employed  an  unguent,  containing 
iodine ;  but  it  was  ultimately  discontinued,  from  a  con- 
viction that  it  was  in  its  operation  injurious,  seeming  to 
produce  effects  the  opposite  of  those  desired.  The  food, 
however,  I  alter ;  and  by  gentle  aperients  I  endeavor  to 


336  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

regulate  the  bowels.  A  course  of  the  iodide  of  potas< 
sium  I  have  likewise  adopted,  and  can  with  confidence 
recommend.  Alterative  doses  only  should  be  adminis- 
tered ;  and  the  drug  ought  to  be  continued  for  three 
months  at  least.  If  prepared  in  the  following  form,  it 
will  not  perhaps  be  readily  swallowed  up,  but  the 
animal  will  very  seldom  violently  resist  its  administra- 
tion : — 

; 

Simple  syrup   ....     Two  ounces. 

Water Six  ounces. 

Iodide  of  potassium  .     .     Fifteen  grains  to  one  drachm. 
Dose,  one  drachm,  or  a  teaspoonful  thrice  daily 

The  quantity  ordered  contains  from,  a  quarter  of  a  grain 
to  a  grain  of  the  iodide  ;  and,  if  there  be  motive  for 
desiring  it  should  be  exhibited  in  substance,  the  like 
amounts  may  be  made  into  pills  with  conserve  of  roses, 
and  a  little  powdered  liquorice.  The  form  is  of  little 
importance ;  but  I  prefer  the  fluid,  because  I  have  found 
that  the  animal  can,  with  no  great  trouble  or  vast  tax 
upon  ingenuity,  be  brought  to  accept  it  readily  ;  and 
with  dogs,  as  with  children,  we  gain  by  convincing  them 
we  are  practising  no  deception.  These  creatures  pos- 
sess remarkable  discernment :  it  is  astonishing  how  long 
the  doubt,  when  once  excited,  will  act  upon  the  canine 
mind.  A  pill,  for  this  reason,  is  better  pushed  down  the 
throat  than  presented  in  meat ;  for  the  imposition,  being 
once  detected,  will  for  a  long  time  subsequent  to  it  be 
suspected.  It  is,  therefore,  best  to  proceed  openly  and 


DOGS  *.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  33*7 

without  fear.  So  strong  is  my  impression  that  dogs  have 
a  general  comprehension  of  the  meaning  of  sounds,  that 
when  I  have  medicines  to  give,  I  always  address  them, 
saying,  "  Come  and  take  your  physic."  Some  will  do 
as  they  are  ordered  ;  but  others  are  less  obedient.  I 
have  met  with  none  (save  clump-headed  spaniels — which 
of  all  dogs  are  the  very  worst  behaved)  that  were  not 
to  be  subjected.  Frankness  and  determination  operate 
wonderfully  on  these  occasions.  The  animal  soon  learns 
it  must  submit,  and  quickly  ascertains  you  have  no  desire 
iO  hurt  it.  The  natural  and  beautiful  confidence  the 
brvte  reposes  in  man  is  thus  appealed  to,  and  it  is  surely 
wise  not  to  tamper  with  so  neble  a  feeling.  With  dogs 
be  resolute  and  straightforward  ;  have  no  sense  of  fear, 
and  have  no  desire  for  deceit.  Call  upon  the  innate 
submissiveness  of  the  creature,  and  claim  its  obedience 
as  a  right.  The  amiable  brute  will  respond  to  such  ap- 
peals ;  as  the  struggles  which  result  from  weakness  ope- 
rating upon  sensibility  will  originate  confusion,  and  pro- 
voke those  bites  which  are  not  maliciously  aimed,  but 
intended  for  self-defence. 

GENERATIVE  ORGANS. FEMALE. 

THE  ignorant  are  always  inclined  to  be  officious  where 
procreation  is  concerned.  The  knowledge  they  pretend 
to,  concerning  such  matters,  however,  consists  of  mingled 
indecency  and  mystery  ;  and,  when  exposed,  only  com- 
mands contempt.  The  poor  dog,  nevertheless,  suffers 
cruelly  through  the  practices  which  such  persons  subject 
15* 


338  DOGS :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT 

it  to  ;  and  great  as  may  be  the  ignorance  of  the  parties 
who  go  about  the  country  under  various  assumed  deno- 
minations, to  torture  the  canine  race,  surely,  they  who 
pay  such  fellows,  or  allow  their  animals  to  be  abused  by 
these  pretenders,  display  a  want  of  sense  even  more  de- 
plorable ?  Still  this  is  done  every  day.  The  nobility 
continue  to  be  the  profitable  dupes  of  a  host  of  confident 
impostors  ;  and  strangely  seem  to  be  infatuated  with 
the  belief  that  the  man  who  sells  a  dog  can  likewise 
administer  to  the  diseases  of  the  creatures  in  which  he 
trades. 

The  bitch  is  most  unfortunate  in  the  variety  of  severi- 
ties she  is  compelled  to  undergo.  Some  foolish  persons 
have  imagined  they  can  at  will  induce  the  periodical 
desire  for  offspring  in  the  animal.  To  do  this,  violent 
stimulants  are  employed  ;  being  often  given  by  the 
mouth,  but  more  frequently  injected  up  the  passage. 
I  have  no  proof  that  such  means  are  ever  successful ; 
and  were  they  capable  of  doing  all  they  are  employed 
to  accomplish,  I  would  certainly  refuse  to  make  use  of 
them.  Nature  cannot  be  coerced  to  man's  profit;  and 
any  interference  with  her  laws  is  always  dangerous.  The 
consequences  may  not  be  so  immediate  that  in  every 
instance  the  effect  is  traced  to  the  cause ;  but  the  ma- 
jor portion  of  the  affections  of  which  the  female  genera- 
tive organs  of  the  dog  are  too  commonly  the  seat,  may 
be  attributed  to  the  carelessness,  or  cruelty  of  the  owner, 
or  of  those  by  whom  he  is  surrounded. 

Various  morbid  growths  are  apt  to  appear   upon  or 


DOGS  '.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  339 

within  the  parts  when  old  age  advances.  These  have 
been  generally  produced  by  violence  endured  at  a  period 
long  prior  to  the  development  of  the  disease.  Potent 
injections  may  have  been  employed  to  bring  on  the  con- 
dition called  "  heat ;"  or  undue  force  may  have  been 
exerted  to  drag  away  the  pups  when  the  bitch  was  in 
labor ;  or  brutality  may  have  been  resorted  to,  to  tear 
apart  the  animals  during  the  performance  of  the  act  of 
impregnation.  Other  sources  of  accident  and  injury  may 
likewise  operate  in  disposing  the  delicate  membrane  of 
the  vagina  to  exhibit  disease  ;  for  boys,  and  others  also, 
are  cruelly  inquisitive,  and  the  dumb  creature  cannot 
complain. 

The  growths  that  appear  upon  the  parts  are  not  pecu- 
liar to  its  locality.  They  are  only  such  as  may  be 
present  on  similar  structures.  They  assume  one  of 
three  forms,  viz.  either  that  of  tumor,  fungus,  or  poly- 
pus. 

The  tumor  may  be  of  any  shape  or  size ;  and  it  may 
be  very  hard  or  comparatively  soft.  Its  consistence  and 
dimension  will  depend  upon  its  character ;  and  this  is 
seldom  in  two  cases  exactly  alike.  Mostly  it  is  confined 
to  the  more  external  parts  of  the  passage  ;  but  so  deep- 
rooted  is  it  that  it  cannot  be  conveniently  dissected 
away.  It  may  have  a  broad  base  or  widely  spread- 
ing attachment ;  and  those  I  have  examined  after  death 
most  frequently  were  mixed  up  with  the  structures  on 
which  they  seemed  to  repose. 

When  such  is  the  case,  nothing  can  be  done  beyond 


340  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

attending  to  the  general  health  ;  as  by  supporting  the 
constitution,  the  tendency  to  disease  is  likely  to  be 
checked.  To  the  part  no  local  application  should  be 
used ;  and  every  care  is  required  to  prevent  the  animal 
from  injuring  it. 

When  more  externally  situated,  a  careful  examination 
must  be  made,  to  decide  whether  there  is  a  fair  hope  of 
the  growth  being  successfully  excised.  If  it  is  hard  and 
circumscribed,  an  operation  is  justifiable  ;  but  the  skin 
should  be  healthy.  All  the  integument  must  be  pre- 
served, and  the  entire  bulk  of  the  morbid  body  cleanly 
taken  away.  The  parts  are  not  so  sensitive  as  to  render 
the  operation  exceedingly  severe  ;  however  large  the 
wound  may  be,  it  generally  heals  rapidly.  After  the 
operation  no  dressing  will  be  required,  unless  some  un- 
toward circumstance  should  arise,  when,  of  course,  the 
remedies  needed  to  counteract  it  must  be  resorted  to. 

Fungus  is  invariably  preceded  by  a  purulent  discharge, 
which,  when  the  growth  is  developed,  is  mingled  with 
blood.  The  system  is  feverish,  and  the  parts  are  hot, 
irritable,  and  painful.  The  animal  is  continually  licking 
itself,  and  is  disinclined  for  motion  or  food. 

In  the  first  instance  the  cure  is  speedy  ;  but  if  allowed 
to  proceed,  the  affection  is  troublesome,  and  may  be  diffi- 
cult to  eradicate.  When  any  unnatural  discharge  ex- 
udes, a  mild  tepid  lotion  should  be  injected.  It  should 
be  of  an  astringent  nature,  and  an  infusion  of  green  tea 
or  any  of  the  eye-washes  recommended  will  be  of  ser- 
vice. The  strength  should  likewise  be  supported,  and 


DOGS  t     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  341 

the  cold  bath  given  daily,  while  exercise  is  particularly 
attended  to. 

When  blood  mingles  with  the  exudation,  a  careful  ex- 
amination, with  a  speculum,  if  required,  must  be  made  ; 
and  the  diseased  surface  should  be  touched  with  lunar 
caustic,  or  sulphate  of  copper.  After  this,  an  injection  of 
the  chloride  of  zinc,  one  grain  to  distilled  water  one 
ounce,  should  be  employed  thrice  daily. 

Should,  however,  the  growth  be  of  any  size,  it  should 
be  snipped  off  with  a  pair  of  probe-pointed  scissors  ;  and 
the  lunar  caustic  ought  then  to  be  applied  and  repeated 
when  the  bleeding  has  entirely  ceased.  If  the  bleeding 
be  excessive,  cold  water  may  be  thrown  up,  or  a  pair  of 
bellows,  to  drive  a  current  of  air  upon  the  place,  suppos- 
ing it  to  be  situated  where  it  can  be  thus  acted  upon, 
may  be  made  use  of.  Too  frequently,  however,  the 
affection  is  deeply  located,  and  then  injections  are  alone 
to  be  resorted  to,  though,  at  the  same  time,  constitu- 
tional measures  may  be  employed.  The  case  is  not  to 
be  despaired  of,  but  the  prospect  of  success  may  not  be 
satisfactory. 

Polypus  is  a  round  pear-shaped  body,  generally  hang- 
ing by  a  pedicle,  or  neck,  like  to  the  stalk  of  the  fruit. 
It  is  smooth,  also  moist,  and  highly  vascular,  having  a 
red  and  shining  appearance.  When  present,  its  attach- 
ment is  commonly  rather  backward,  or  pretty  deep 
within  the  passage.  A  small  glairy  discharge  is  at  first 
observed  The  fluid  emitted  is  simply  mucous,  caused 
by  the  increased  secretion  of  the  membrane,  which  is 


342  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

irritated  by  the  presence  of  a  foreign  growth.  The  parts 
subsequently  seem  to  be  swollen,  and  the  animal  does 
not  appear  otherwise  affected.  At  length  something  red 
and  glistening  is  remarked  to  protrude.  It  is  seen  occa- 
sionally, and  then  withdrawn  ;  but  most  generally  it 
appears  subsequent  to  the  urine  having  been  voided. 
Ultimately,  however,  it  constantly  hangs  out ;  and  as, 
when  exposed,  it  annoys  the  animal,  it  may  be  injured, 
and  bleed  freely. 

The  practitioner  must  cautiously  examine  the  part. 
Before  he  makes  up  his  mind  concerning  the  nature  of 
that  which  is  presented,  he  must  assure  himself  that  the 
womb  has  not  become  inverted.  I  was  once  requested 
by  a  veterinary  surgeon  to  see  him  remove  a  polypus 
from  the  vagina  of  a  bitch,  as  he  had  determined  to  ex- 
cise it.  Luckily  I  went,  and  saved  him  from  cutting 
away  the  animal's  uterus,  which  would  assuredly  have 
destroyed  her.  A  contrary  course  was  pursued,  and 
that  dog,  in  three  days  afterwards,  was  returned  to  its 
master  well.  The  following  particulars  will  enable  him 
who  may  be  in  such  a  difficulty  to  discriminate  the  uterus 
from  a  polypus. 

The  uterus  is  soft,  but  rough  when  exposed ;  no  ves- 
sels are  to  be  seen  upon  its  surface  ;  it  does  not  shine  ; 
it  is  not  round  or  pear-shaped  ;  it  feels  like  a  thick 
empty  sac,  aud  never  appears  upon  pressure  to  contain 
any  substance ;  it  cannot  be  traced  to  any  stalk-like  at- 
tachment, and,  if  returned,  the  situation  it  will  occupy  de- 
notes the  position  it  was  ordained  to  hold. 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  343 

A  polypus  is  smooth,  glistening,  and  on  its  surface 
generally  exhibits  vessels.  Its  covering  is  always  tense, 
and  contains  a  semi-solid  substance ;  it  is  often  sensitive, 
and,  if  the  space  allows  of  the  passage  of  the  finger,  the 
neck  or  point  of  attachment  can  be  felt ;  it  cannot,  likf 
the  womb,  or  the  bladder  when  inverted,  be  forced  in- 
ward, or  made  to  take  the  situation  which  either  of  them 
would  occupy. 

Moreover,  the  appearance  of  a  polypus  is  an  affair 
which  must  have  attracted  notice  some  months  prior 
to  its  occurrence  ;  whereas,  the  inversion  of  the  bladder 
or  the  womb,  occupies  but  an  instant,  and  is  commonly 
preceded  by  no  symptoms. 

Being  assured  there  is  a  polypus,  if  a  fine  silk  can  be 
passed  round  the  neck  or  stalk  and  be  tied  tight,  so  as  to 
cut  off  the  circulation  of  blood  to  the  part,  the  growth 
will  drop  off  in  two  days,  supposing  the  operation  to 
have  been  effectively  performed.  When  a  ligature  can- 
not be  applied,  the  body  should  be  seized  with  a  proper 
pair  of  forceps,  and  it  should  then  be  turned  round  and 
round  several  times.  The  object  in  doing  this  is  to  twist 
the  stalk,  so  as  to  strangulate  the  vessels  within  it  ;  and 
this  sometimes  answers  quite  as  well  as  the  ligature 
itself,  but  the  last  is  best,  as  being  more  sure  and  less 
likely  to  be  attended  with  accident.  When  neither  can 
be  accomplished,  the  polypus  may  be  forcibly  dragged 
away,  or  literally  torn  out ;  but  the  pain  of  this  is  very 
great,  and  the  operation  has  nothing  to  recommend  it  but 
its  absolute  necessity. 


344  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

The  polypus  being  removed,  perfectly  cold,  mild,  as- 
tringent injections,  to  act  as  healing  and  cleansing 
lotions,  should  be  used  ;  or  if  any  portion  of  the  stalk 
remain,  to  that  caustic  may  be  applied. 

Authors  speak  of  cancer  of  the  vagina.  I  have  seen 
nothing  yet  in  the  animal  that  I  may  designate  by  such 
a  term.  I  have,  it  is  true,  met  with  serious  wounds  and 
grievous  sores ;  but  all  of  these  have  yielded  to  treat- 
ment, and  I  am  not  aware  that,  if  their  nature  had  been 
malignant,  they  could  have  been  subdued  by  any  medi- 
cinal measures. 

Dropsy  of  the  uterus  I  have  encountered,  though,  as 
no  teacher  or  work  speaks  of  such  an  affection  in  the 
dog,  it  was  some  time  before  I  was  able  to  recognise  the 
disease.  The  bitch  thus  afflicted  is  generally  petted  into 
ill-health.  She  is  fat,  slothful,  and  weakly.  All  the 
various  symptoms  show  the  digestion  to  be  deranged; 
and  in  most  cases  she  eventually  perishes  of  abdominal 
disease,  which  is  in  its  termination  independent  of  the 
condition  of  the  uterus.  The  only  marked  symptom 
directing  attention  to  the  womb,  is  the  cessation  of  every 
sign  indicating  sexual  desire.  For  years  there  may 
be  no  appearance  of  "  heat ;"  but  otherwise  the  bitch 
shall  be  regarded  only  as  delicate,  and  not  be  esteem- 
ed to  be  decidedly  unwell.  If,  however,  the  body 
of  the  animal  be  examined  after  death,  the  body  and 
horns  of  the  uterus  will  be  found  distended  with  a  thin 
aqueous  fluid ;  and  the  walls  of  the  organ  will  be  seen 
to  be  very  attenuated,  and  much  wanting  in  vascularity. 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  345 

There  is  no  precise  limit  to  the  size  the  uterus  may  at- 
tain ;  but,  in  consequence  of  its  increased  volume,  it 
occupies  another  situation  to  that  it  naturally  holds  in 
the  abdomen  of  the  bitch.  Generally,  when  dropsical 
to  any  extent,  it  will  repose  immediately  upon  the  linea 
alba ;  and  it  is  apt  to  be  injured  if  care  be  not  taken 
when  the  post  mortem  examination  is  made. 

For  dropsy  of  the  uterus,  general  measures  must  alone 
be  employed,  and  these  must  be  of  a  tonic  character  ;  for, 
however  much  the  dog  may  be  petted,  or  however  fat  its 
body  may  be,  the  disease  is  always  consequent  upon  de- 
bility. Among  the  tonics  are  several  which  have  a  stimu- 
lating action  upon  the  uterus,  and  where  it  is  suspected 
to  be  affected  the  following  medicines  may  be  adminis- 
tered : — 

Powdered  cinnamon  .     .     One  scruple  to  one  and  a  half  drachm. 
Powdered  borate  of  soda    Ten  grains  to  two  scruples. 
Powdered  secale  cornutum  One  to  six  grains. 
Extract  of  gentian     .     .     One  drachm  to  half  an  ounce. 
Powdered  quassia ...     A  sufficiency. 
Make  in  twenty-four  pills,  and  give  three  daily. 

Iodide  of  iron   ....     Ten  grains  to  one  scruple. 
Powdered  cinchona  bark     One  drachm  to  half  an  ounce. 
Extract  of  gentian      .     .     One  drachm  to  half  an  ounce. 
Make  as  in  the  previous  prescription. 

Iodide  of  potassium  .  .  Ten  grains  to  one  drachm. 
Tincture  of  cantharides  .  Five  drops  to  one  scruple. 
Simple  syrup  ....  One  drachm. 

Water Two  ounces. 

Let  a  tea-spoonful  be  given  three  times  a  day. 

15* 


346  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

In  some  cases  the  pills  first  recommended  may  be 
given  with  the  drops  last  proposed  ;  but  the  action  must 
be  watched,  and  either  the  dose  diminished  or  the  medi- 
cine withheld,  if  it  appears  to  have  any  violent  effect. 
The  intent  is  to  work  gently  and  gradually  upon  the 
system,  and  no  immediate  result  should  be  expected  or 
desired. 

PARTURITION,  OR  PUPPING. — This  is  a  very  serious 
branch  of  the  present  subject ;  for,  through  the  inability 
to  bring  forth  their  young,  many  a  valuable  bitch  is 
annually  lost ;  and,  by  the  injudicious  measures  intended 
to  relieve  them,  many  more  are  yearly  sacrificed.  I 
know  of  no  book  that  gives  proper  directions  for  the 
guidance  of  the  practitioner ;  indeed,  the  rules  laid 
down  by  both  Elaine  and  Youatt  are  calculated  to  do 
mischief  whenever  they  shall  be  put  into  practice.  The 
reader  must,  therefore,  be  content  to  accept  that  which 
will  be  submitted  to  his  consideration  on  this  topic,  as 
the  result  of  the  experience  of  an  individual  whose 
observations  have  been  made  only  during  a  compara- 
tively short  period,  and  whose  opinions  consequently  are 
not  to  be  regarded  as  confirmed.  While  directing  atten- 
tion to  what  has  been  declared  rejected,  the  author 
solicits  no  confidence  in  his  judgment,  beyond  that  which 
results  shall  sanction,  and  reason  approve. 

Little  gentlemen  are  said  to  incline  towards  what  are 
termed  fine  women ;  and  many  persons  will  remember 
the  caricature,  in  which  a  strapping  Life-guards-man  was 
depicted,  stooping  to  salute  a  lady  who  scarcely  reached 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  34*7 

the  top  of  his  boots.  The  like  admiration  for  bulk  ap- 
pears to  be  entertained  by  the  members  of  the  canine 
race.  Small  curs  are  much  disposed  to  bestow  their 
affections  upon  huge  Newfoundlands  ;  and  diminutive 
bitches,  if  followed  by  a  host  of  suitors,  will  give  the 
preference  to  the  largest  of  the  group.  All  descriptions 
of  dogs  will  freely  have  intercourse  with  one  another; 
and  as  these  animals  are  of  such  various  proportions,  the 
female  is  frequently  unable  to  give  birth  to  the  progeny 
of  a  gigantic  sire  Care  consequently  should  be  taken 
to  provide  suitable  males  when  pups  are  desired  ;  and  in 
all  case*  the  dog  should  be  smaller  than  the  bitch.  It  is 
not,  however,  a  sufficient  precaution  that  the  dog  be  of 
less  size  ;  for  it,  or  the  bitch  herself,  may  be  the  dwarf 
of  a  large  stock,  and  being  so,  may  be  capable  of  getting 
or  gestating  offspring  as  huge  as  the  race  from  which 
either  of  them  sprung.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  for  a 
small  dog  to  be  quite  as  dangerous  as  one  of  great 
weight ;  and  I  knew  an  animal  of  this  kind  which  had 
been  the  cause  of  many  deaths  on  that  account.  The 
animal  alluded  to  was  the  property  of  a  gentleman  (now 
deceased)  who  had  long  graced  the  bench.  The  dog  was 
a  handsome  Scotch  terrier  ;  and,  being  small,  it  was  fre- 
quently solicited  as  a  stock-dog.  It  was,  however,  very 
deceptive ;  for  a  bitch  twice  its  own  size  could  with  diffi- 
culty survive  the  consequences  of  its  embraces.  It  is  a 
diminutive  example  of  a  naturally  large  race  ;  and  in  its 
offspring  there  is  a  disposition  to  return  to  the  original 
gize.  Therefore,  not  only  must  the  dog  be  small,  but,  if 


348  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

possible,  it  must  have  been  derived  from  a  small  stock. 
The  giant's  dwarf  may  beget  a  giant ;  and  how  fre- 
quently do  parents  of  short  stature  have  children  who 
can  at  maturity  look  literally  over  their  heads  !  Cer- 
tainly more  important,  however,  than  the  size  of  the  dog, 
is  the  magnitude  of  the  stock  whence  the  bitch  is  de- 
rived. A  full-sized  pug  bitch,  whose  portrait  is  given 
beneath,  had  connexion  with  a  setter  dog.  She  was 


sent  to  me  to  be  delivered ;  but  with  little  assistance  the 
affair  was  accomplished.  A  small  mongrel  bitch,  but  a 
great  favorite  with  its  master,  broke  loose  during  his  ab- 
sence, and  had  connexion  with  a  dog  at  least  four  times 
its  size.  The  animal  was  brought  to  me  to  ascertain 
what  could  be  done,  her  death  being  expected  when  the 
nine  weeks  expired.  At  the  proper  period,  however,  she 
brought  forth  four  pups  without  any  assistance.  On  the 
opposite  side  numerous  instances  might  be  quoted  :  but, 
on  this  topic,  enough  has  been  said  to  warn  the  reader 
that  the  dog,  however  small,  should  not  be  permitted  to 


DOGS  I    'i-HEI.i    MANAGEMENT. 


349 


approach  the  bitch  whose  mother  was  large,  or  whose 
brothers  and  sisters  stand  much  higher  than  herself. 
Let  the  reader  look  at  the  two  portraits  that  follow. 


THE   BLOOD-HOUND. 


They  are  evidently  of  one  and  the  same  family.  They 
both  had  a  common  progenitor.  The  beagle  is  the 
blood-hound,  only  of  smaller  size ;  and  often  these  beau- 
tiful diminutive  creatures  suffer  in  parturition,  or  throw 
pups  whose  size  takes  from  them  all  value.  However, 
for  the  chance  of  security,  if  for  no  more  tangible  object, 
let  the  dog,  in  every  instance,  be  smaller  than  the  bitch  ; 
and  let  it  also  have  no  disease,  but  be  in  perfect  health, 
strong  and  lively.  A  dog  in  any  way  deformed  or 
affected  with  any  disorder  ought  to  be  avoided.  Blind- 
ness, skin  eruptions,  piles,  paralysis  of  the  tongue,  and  a 
host  of  other  annoyances,  I  more  than  suspect  to  be 
hereditary.  The  mental  qualities  are  transmitted,  as 


350  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT!1. 

well  as  physical  beauties  and  defects.  Sagacity,  health, 
and  beauty  are  to  be  sought  for,  and  if  all  cannot  be  ob- 
tained, those  most  desired  must  be  selected.  Where 
shape  is  wanted,  let  the  dog  possess  such  form  as  the 


THE  BEAGLE. 


bitch  is  deficient  in ;  thus  the  female  having  a  long-  nose 
or  legs,  may  be  put  to  a  male  short  in  these  respects ; 
and  the  rule  may  be  applied  in  other  instances. 

Judgment  is  needed ;  and,  of  course,  the  choice  is  to 
be  in  some  measure  regulated  by  the  kind  of  stock  the 
dog  has  been  known  to  get.  All  dogs  kept  as  stock-dogs 
have  reputations  for  the  qualities  of  their  offspring  ;  and 
these,  sometimes,  are  better  guides  than  the  appearances 
of  the  animals  themselves  ;  for  it  does  occur  that  the 
pups  procured  by  a  diminutive  dog,  do  occasionally 
prove  the  very  reverse  of  what  might  be  anticipated. 

The  bitch,  for  breeding,  should  be  rather  long  in  the 
back  ;  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  for  her  to  be  made  too 


DOGS  *.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  351 

wide  in  the  hind-quarters.  She  should  be  strong,  and 
rather  large  than  small  of  her  breed  ;  and  where  a  dimi- 
nution of  size  is  desired,  it  is  better  to  obtain  it  through 
the  father  than  the  mother.  When  the  last  method  is 
adopted  there  is  no  danger  of  the  bitch  bearing  pups  of 
gigantic  proportions,  and  which  she  may  not  be  capable 
of  bringing  forth.  The  breed,  also,  should  be  as  pure  as 
possible ;  for  there  is  a  disposition  in  these  animals  to 
throw  back,  as  it  is  termed ;  that  is,  supposing  a  bitch  to 
be  of  spaniel  breed,  to  that  degree  which  allows  of  no 
cross  being  detected  ;  nevertheless  if  there  should  be  a 
stain  of  cur  or  terrier  in  her  pedigree,  one  or  more  of 
every  litter  she  bears,  may  prominently  exhibit  it.  It  is 
often  long  before  this  natural  proof  of  a  degraded  family 
can  be  entirely  eradicated  ;  and  it  is  very  common  for 
persons  to  express  surprise  at  the  pups  born  resembling 
neither  of  the  parents  they  were  derived  from. 

Another  caution  not  to  be  neglected  is,  to  keep  the 
bitch  from  all  communication  with  dogs  it  is  wished  her 
progeny  should  in  no  way  resemble.  A  low-bred  play- 
mate may  not  appear  to  be  of  much  consequence ;  and 
the  proprietor  may  imagine,  if  actual  connexion  is  pro- 
vided against,  no  further  precaution  can  be  required. 
The  females  of  the  canine  race,  however,  are  able  to 
bestow  their  affections ;  and  tender  recollections  are  as 
potent  over  them  as  they  are  known  to  be  in  other  cases, 
where  higher  animals  are  concerned.  Bitches  are  not 
always  prudent  in  their  loves,  but  are  apt  to  fling  them- 
selves away  on  curs  of  low  degree.  If  reared  with 


352  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

a  companion  of  vulgar  appearance,  there  often  springs  up 
between  the  pair  a  devotion  which  no  time  can  after- 
wards subdue.  The  passion,  for  such  it  really  is, 
becomes  of  a  more  than  romantic  endurance.  The  loved 
one's  image  grows  to  be  so  impressed  upon  the  mind — so 
much  so,  that  all  the  fruits  of  the  body  afterwards  bear 
its  likeness.  There  may  have  been  no  intercourse 
between  the  pair,  but  to  animals  of  her  breed,  the  bitch 
may,  contrary  to  her  longings,  have  been  devoted  :  and 
yet,  in  the  offspring  she  brings  forth  the  object  of  her 
affections  will  be  represented.  This,  however,  is  very 
likely  to  be  the  case,  when  the  first  male  accepted  is  by 
accident  or  neglect  of  impure  origin.  There  have  been 
several  well-marked  cases  illustrative  of  this  fact,  and 
probably  many  which  have  never  been  properly  observed. 
The  peculiarity  of  a  high-bred  bitch  bringing  forth  a 
blemished  litter,  would  be  set  down  to  her  throwing 
back;  but  perhaps  a  fair  proportion  of  the  cases  thus 
accounted  for,  might  with  justice  be  attributed  to  the 
mental  influence  which  has  been  pointed  out. 

The  first  indication  of  a  bitch  approaching  to  desire,  is 
a  slight  enlargement  of  the  teats.  This  may  be  observed 
for  a  week,  more  or  less,  before  the  parts  show  any  signs 
of  change.  These  last,  however,  soon  begin  to  swell,  and 
a  thick  glairy  discharge  of  simple  mucus  drains  from 
them  in  small  quantities.  The  secretion  becomes  more 
copious,  and  thinner,  gradually  changing  its  character  to 
that  of  blood ;  and  as  that  alteration  in  the  fluid  is 
remarked,  the  labia  grow  larger,  redder,  and  more  hot. 


DOGS  '.    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  353 

The  animal  has  then  "heat,"  or  oestrum,  upon  her,  and 
her  system  is  generally  excited.  She  is  more  lively,  and 
should  any  other  dogs  be  with  her,  she  indulges  in  a 
variety  of  coquettish  antics.  Her  attitudes  when  thus 
excited  are  very  picturesque,  and  the  beauty  of  the  ani- 
mal is  never  exhibited  to  greater  advantage. 

A  lively  grace  animates  her  whole  frame ;  and  she 
is  now  the  creature  a  painter  should  study,  or  a  poet 
describe.  She  will  not  immediately  accept  the  male, 
whose  passion  she  evidently  practises  all  her  arts  to 
excite.  For  a  few  days,  perhaps,  a  romping  courtship 
may  go  forward  before  union  is  actually  permitted. 

Dog  fanciers  almost  universally  attach  importance  to 
the  appearance  of  the  discharge.  Some  say  the  dog 
should  not  be  offered  before  the  bleeding  begins  to 
diminish.  If  these  rules  are  not  attended  to,  I  have  been 
most  confidently  assured  the  evil  consequences  of  the 
neglect  are  certain  to  be  present  in  the  pups.  The  litter 
prematurely  begotten,  it  is  foretold,  must  be  bad  in  some 
way;  though  why  this  should  be  the  case,  or  how  the 
cause  produces  such  effects,  none  of  the  dog  fanciers  have 
been  able  to  explain. 

As  by  attempting  to  obey  these  injunctions  I  have 
known  many  disappointments  to  be  produced,  there  was 
every  inducement,  even  had  I  not  been  inquisitive  from 
professional  motives,  to  set  me  testing  the  truth  of  these 
assertions  ;  for  I  am  not  inclined  to  sneer  at  every  opinion 
announced  by  persons  devoid  of  education.  A  power  to 
observe  is  by  no  means  regulated  by  an  ability  to  read  or 


354  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

write  ;  and  as  the  dog  fanciers  bred  much  more  largely 
than  I  possibly  could  do,  their  experience  entitled  their 
opinions  to  attention.  Nevertheless,  ignorance  is  so 
exposed  to  misconception,  that  its  declarations  at  all 
times  should  be  examined,  and  I  resolved  to  test  the 
truth  of  the  rule  which  so  many  announced  to  be  esta- 
blished. 

The  result  has  not  confirmed  the  belief  generally 
entertained ;  but  it  has  induced  me  to  conclude  that  the 
dog  may  be  allowed  whenever  the  bitch  will  permit  him. 
Nature,  I  have  found,  regulates  the  matter,  so  as  not  to 
necessitate  man's  supervision.  The  bitch  will,  by  her 
instinct,  decide  the  question ;  and  she  may,  without  any 
dread  of  mysterious  consequences,  be  left  to  its  direction. 
In  support  of  this  conclusion,  a  large  number  of  animals 
can  readily  be  adduced.  The  numerous  bitches,  espe- 
cially in  the  country,  that  are  placed  under  no  restraint, 
but  are  left  free  to  gratify  their  impulses,  afford  obvious 
demonstration  of  the  fact.  These  creatures  have  litters 
that  are  much  stronger  and  healthier  than  those  which 
are  more  tenderly  guarded. 

The  fatality  that  attends  the  offspring  of  very  choice 
breeds,  does  not  infer  that  the  customs  they  are  subjected 
to  conduce  materially  to  their  benefit ;  and  my  experi- 
ence, so  far  as  it  has  been  carried,  supports  the  conclu- 
sion which  this  circumstance  would  seem  to  countenance. 

Let  the  bitch  therefore  follow  her  inclinations  ;  but  it 
is  not  unusual  for  force  to  be  employed  on  such  occa- 
sions. This  should  never  be  allowed.  The  female  ought 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  355 

on  no  account  to  be  compelled  ;  but  it  is  a  common  prac- 
tice to  employ  restraint  when  she  is  unwilling.  Some 
assistance  may  occasionally  be  needed,  particularly  with 
the  smaller  breeds,  which  are  apt  to  be  physically  dis- 
abled ;  but  it  should  be  limited  to  such  offices  as  favor 
the  desires  of  the  parties  principally  concerned.  When- 
ever man's  aid  goes  beyond  that,  it  is  likely  to  be  inju- 
rious ;  for  if  Nature  orders  an  animal  to  decline  the  gra- 
tification of  its  instinct,  we  may  rest  assured  there  is 
good  reason  why  such  a  phenomenon  is  exhibited,  al- 
though we  may  not  possess  the  acumen  to  rightly  in- 
terpret its  indication. 

Some  people  permit  the  dog  and  bitch  to  remain  toge- 
ther for  several  hours ;  but  with  favorite  stock-dogs,  it  is 
customary  to  present  the  female  twice.  I  have  found 
the  second  visit  to  be  needless ;  and  a  single  occasion  has 
never  yet  failed  to  procure  me  three  or  four  pups,  which 
is  quite  as  many  as  the  majority  of  bitches  are  able  to 
rear.  The  ordinary  practice,  however,  appears  to  do  no 
harm,  so  far  as  I  am  aware  of  its  consequences.  I  do 
not,  therefore,  object  to  it ;  but  I  know  it  is  not  impera- 
tive, and  it  is  well  to  be  convinced  on  such  a  point. 

After  the  bitch  has  been  lined,  she  should  be  most 
carefully  watched.  Her  desire  rather  increases  than 
diminishes,  and  she  will  be  most  anxious  to  escape  in 
search  of  new  admirers.  Her  appetite  renders  her  inge- 
nious ;  and  the  owner  is  often  vexed  to  find  she  conquers 
at  this  time  those  bounds  which  at  other  periods  confined 
her.  Let  her  be  securely  housed,  or  kept  under  the  eye 


356  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

of  her  master,  who  must  not  forget  her  propensity  io 
rove. 

When  the  discharge  ceases,  and  the  local  swelling  sub- 
sides, the  necessity  for  vigilance  is  at  an  end.  The  ani- 
mal has  then  returned  to  chastity,  and  will  be  as  obedi- 
ent as  before  her  passions  were  inflamed.  During  the 
nine  weeks  of  gestation,  she  demands  no  special  care. 
She  thrives  best  if  left  to  take  her  chance,  and  does  bet- 
ter in  proportion  as  she  is  not  pampered.  Her  food 
should  be  wholesome,  and  her  exercise  rather  increased 
than  diminished.  She  should  not  be  made  fat,  neither 
ought  she  to  be  suddenly  reduced. 

The  safest  course  is  to  take  no  notice  of  the  particular 
condition  of  the  animal,  but  to  let  her  ordinary  treat- 
ment be  continued  without  any  change.  The  bitch  will 
return  to  her  usual  manners  and  appearance,  nor  will 
there  be  for  some  time  anything  to  denote  her  having 
conceived.  In  the  middle  of  the  fourth  week,  however, 
the  presence  of  the  young  within  the  abdomen  may,  by 
skilful  manipulation,  be  detected.  I  know  of  no  one  who 
has  before  made  the  observation,  but  I  am  confident  as 
to  the  correctness  of  the  statement;  since  I  have  fre- 
quently been  enabled  to  inform  parties  that  their  dogs 
were  in  pup,  when  the  circumstance  was  not  suspected. 
In  many  instances,  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain  before 
the  expiration  of  the  first  month  the  number  of  young 
that  would  be  born  ;  but  of  course  these  matters  are  not 
always  to  be  told  with  equal  certainty.  They  can,  how- 
ever, be  generally  ascertained  with  tolerable  accuracy ; 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  35*J 

but  where  there  is  only  one  sense  to  guide  the  know- 
ledge, and  that  one  is  not  quite  unobstructed,  the  judg- 
ment is  liable  to  be  mistaken  with  regard  to  particulars, 
though  it  may  be  assured  concerning  the  main  point. 

To  discover  whether  a  bitch  is  in  pup,  let  her  be 
placed  upon  a  table,  and  her  fears  or  excitability  ban- 
ished by  caresses.  Then  lay  her  upon  her  side,  and  with 
the  fingers  gently  manipulate  the  intestines.  If  the 
womb  is  impregnated,  the  person,  directing  his  attention 
first  to  the  situation  the  uterus  occupies,  near  to  the  rim 
of  the  pelvis,  and  inferior  to  the  rectum,  will  there  detect 
round  smooth  bodies,  like  little  eggs.  These  may  not  be 
perceptible  if  the  bladder  be  loaded ;  but  if  the  catheter 
be  employed  to  draw  off  the  urine,  they  will  suiely  be 
felt.  If  the  rectum  be  full  of  foeces,  it  serves  as  an  admi- 
rable guide  to  the  position  of  the  uterus  ;  though  he  who 
is.  acquainted  with  anatomy  needs  no  such  assistance. 

Some  globular  substance  being  detected,  the  fingers 
are  advanced,  and  if  more  than  one  pup  be  conceived, 
another  similar  to  it  will  speedily  impinge  upon  the 
touch ;  then  another,  and  so  on,  until  the  whole  of  the 
promised  family  have  been  thus  announced.  The  last  is 
the  most  difficult  to  discover :  for  should  there  be  more 
than  two  or  three,  it  may,  and  will,  generally  occupy  the 
extremity  of  a  horn ;  and,  in  that  situation,  may  escape 
observation.  There  are  to  the  womb  of  this  animal  a 
pair  of  horns,  which  are  long,  and  extend  to  the  region  of 
the  kidneys.  Both  cannot  be  traced  at  the  same  time, 
and  there  is  a  chance  of  the  two  being  confounded. 


358  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

Therefore  it  is  well  not  to  be  positive  as  to  the  precise 
number  of  young  the  bitch  will  bring  forth ;  and  I  never 
presume  to  speak  confidently  upon  the  point ;  for  though, 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  my  opinion  may  have  been  cor- 
roborated, nevertheless,  I  have  often  known  a  pup  more 
than  I  supposed  the  uterus  contained  to  have  been 
delivered. 

From  the  end  of  the  fourth  week,  the  litter,  as  it  were, 
go  away,  or  are  lost ;  but  when  the  seventh  week  arrives, 
the  contents  of  the  abdomen  may  be  plainly  detected; 
and  if  the  bitch  be  taken  upon  the  lap,  and  her  belly  sup- 
ported with  the  hand,  they  at  this  period  will  be  felt  to 
move,  and  the  motion  even  of  their  limbs  is  clearly 
recognised. 

Milk  appears  in  the  teats  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
week,  and  the  presence  of  the  fluid  declares  the  event  is 
near  at  hand.  The  following  day,  or  the  one  succeeding, 
is  marked  by  a  mucous  discharge  from  the  vagina ;  and 
when  that  is  witnessed,  parturition  is  seldom  delayed 
beyond  a  day  or  two  at  most. 

The  exact  period  is  announced  by  the  animal  being 
disinclined  for  food  and  desirous  of  solitude.  Some 
bitches  do  not  wish  for  seclusion ;  but  others  are  very 
anxious  to  obtain  it;  and  in  either  case  the  disposition 
should  be  gratified.  All  that  is  necessary  for  the  comfort 
of  the  creature  should  be  provided  ;  but  if  the  accommo- 
dation designed  for  her  be  rejected,  she  should  as  far  as 
possible  be  allowed  to  indulge  her  own  liking  for  another 
spot. 


DOGS  !    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  359 

As  the  time  of  parturition  draws  near — that  is,  when 
the  increase  of  mucus  is  remarked — a  daily  meal  of 
hoiled  liver  should  be  given ;  but  nothing  stronger,  of  a 
laxative  nature,  ought  to  be  administered,  unless  the 
absolute  necessity  of  such  relief  as  aperients  afford  is 
ascertained.  Many  persons  are  in  the  habit  of  giving 
buckthorn  or  castor  oil  at  this  season ;  but  the  dog  is 
naturally  very  delicate ;  and  nothing  calculated  to 
detract  from  the  strength  which  the  coming  effort  must 
severely  tax,  should  be  heedlessly  resorted  to. 

When  the  bitch  retires,  let  her  wish  for  privacy  be 
respected.  For  three  or  four  hours  allow  her  to  be 
undisturbed  ;  but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  the  per- 
son who  most  enjoys  her  confidence,  may  approach  her. 
After  an  exchange  of  recognitions,  the  animal  may  be 
examined.  If  nothing  extraordinary  can  be  remarked, 
nothing  should  be  done  beyond  offering  food  and  water ; 
neither  of  which,  however,  need  be  pressed  upon  her.  A 
day  possibly  may  thus  pass,  without  any  sign  of  decided 
progress  being  made  ;  nevertheless,  the  owner's  patience 
must  not  be  alarmed,  for  the  greatest  danger  springs  from 
premature  assistance. 

The  first  pup  is  often  long  before  it  is  delivered ;  so 
that  the  cries  be  not  sharp,  loud,  and  frequent,  the  delay 
need  not  generate  fear.  Four-and-twenty  hours  having 
elapsed,  and  the  indication  of  suffering  with  constant 
straining  being  present,  the  help  which  man  can  give 
should  not  be  pressed  upon  the  animal.  The  throes  must 
cease,  or  the  bitch  appear  exhausted  by  lying  on  its  side, 


360  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

and  emitting  low  moans  before  any  aid  is  offered.  Then 
the  little  finger,  well  greased,  may  be  passed  gently  up 
the  vagina,  to  learn  if  anything  be  within  the  passage ; 
and  if  a  pup  be  felt,  instruments,  as  hereafter  described, 
may  be  employed;  but,  on  no  account,  need  the  finger 
be  pushed  beyond  the  os  uteri.  If  the  mouth  of  the 
womb  be  well  opened,  free,  and  the  passage  clear,  the 
attention  must  be  bestowed  upon  the  bitch,  and  every 
means  employed  to  revive  the  strength  and  bring  back 
the  pains.  Some  unusual  circumstance  is  needed  to  jus- 
tify manual  interference — such  as  a  pup  with  its  side 
presented,  or  the  os  uteri  well  expanded,  and  the  head  of 
a  dead  pup  filling  up  the  space. 

To  such  an  extent  have  I  practically  followed  out  the 
measures  here  recommended,  that  under  my  care  the 
labor-pains  of  a  Scotch  terrier  ceased  without  anything 
being  born.  The  bitch  returned  to  her  customary  habits, 
but  appeared  dull,  while  a  dark  discharge  was  emitted. 
I  told  the  proprietor  the  bitch  had  a  dead  pup  within 
her,  and  entreated  him  to  give  the  animal  time.  He  con- 
sented to  do  this  ;  and  on  the  fourth  day  from  that  of  the 
unsuccessful  labor,  the  animal  was  delivered  of  a  dead 
pup,  with  perfect  ease. 

The  presence  of  straining  alone  should  never  be  re- 
garded as  a  symptom  of  pupping  being  actually  at  hand. 
The  bitch,  like  other  animals,  is  subject  to  spasms,  called 
false  labor-pains.  These  are  in  appearance  highly  de- 
ceptive, for  they  are  generally  accompanied  with  plain- 
tive cries.  To  distinguish  their  true  character,  let  the 


DOGS:    THEIR    MANAGEMENT  361 

hands  embrace  the  abdomen ;  and  at  the  time  when 
spasm  seizes  her,  let  gentle  pressure  be  made  upon  its 
sides.  If  the  pains  be  false,  the  convulsion  will  be  felt 
to  render  turgid  the  muscles  of  the  abdomen,  but  nothing 
within  it  will  at  the  same  time  feel  hard.  Should,  how- 
ever, the  labor  have  commenced,  other  signs  than  these 
will  then  declare  the  fact.  When  the  throes  come  on, 
the  uterus  will  contract ;  and  beneath  the  hands  it  will 
be  then  felt  a  hard,  harsh,  and  solid  body.  Its  charac- 
ter, when  naturally  excited,  is  not  to  be  mistaken  ;  but 
is  so  well  and  strongly  marked,  that  there  is  no  excuse 
for  not  detecting  its  indication. 

For  false  pains  nothing  need  be  done  for  some  time ; 
but  if  they  continue,  and  seem  to  distress  the  animal, 
ether  and  opium  may  be  freely  given  by  the  mouth ; 
thjs  will  have  the  effect  of  quieting  the  spasm  without 
injuring  the  pups. 

The  existence  of  true  labor  being  ascertained,  should 
there  be  sufficient  cause  to  suspect  obstruction  to  be  pre- 
sent, then  let  the  finger  be  oiled  and  introduced  up  the 
passage  with  caution  as  directed.  Some  persons  when 
called  to  a  bitch  in  pup,  always  begin  at  once  doing  this, 
but  it  should  not  be  done  unless  there  be  some  reason  for 
the  practice.  I  have  known  fellows  poke  the  poor  ani- 
mals about,  as  though  to  do  so  was  an  important  duty, 
which  they  were  bound  incessantly  to  perform.  The 
introduction  of  the  finger  cannot  do  otherwise  than  re- 
move the  mucus  which  Nature  provides  to  lubricate  the 
passage  and  facilitate  the  egress  of  the  pup.  It  is  the 

16 


362  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

mildest  and  best  moisture  the  membrane  can  receive,  and 
its  removal  is  not  to  be  slightly  thought  of.  The  finger, 
moreover,  by  the  friction  it  occasions,  irritates  the  parts  ; 
and  however  gently  it  may  be  introduced,  it  cannot 
otherwise  than  in  some  degree  have  this  effect.  The 
less  it  is  used,  therefore,  the  better;  and  when  it  is 
inserted,  the  attention  should  be  alive  to  note  every  cir- 
cumstance the  touch  can  acquaint  us  with. 

Other  parties,  when  the  labor  is  difficult  or  tedious, 
think  it  advisable  to  place  the  bitch  in  a  hot  bath.  All 
the  authors  I  know  of,  recommend  this  measure ;  but  I 
must,  without  reservation,  in  the  strongest  possible  terms, 
condemn  it.  In  obedience  with  the  directions  of  those 
who  wrote  or  lectured  on  this  subject,  I  originally  fol- 
lowed the  practice ;  but  it  was  not  long  before  I  was 
apprised  of  its  evil  effects  ;  and  my  wonder  now  is,  how 
so  injurious  a  custom  ever  came  into  general  favor.  I 
have  known  the  bitch,  when  the  throes  were  energetic, 
to  be  placed  in  the  warm  bath ;  and  under  its  action  to 
have  indeed  been  quieted,  for  the  pains  never  subse- 
quently returned.  The  efforts,  upon  the  vigor  of  which 
the  delivery  depended,  have,  to  my  knowledge,  been 
more  than  once,  twice,  or  thrice,  dispersed,  by  the 
warmth  which  at  such  a  time  is  a  poison;  for  I  can 
recollect  but  few  cases  where  the  bitch  was  taken  from 
the  water  to  survive. 

Still,  as  the  assertions  of  an  individual  cannot  be  sup- 
posed of  sufficient  force  to  overthrow  an  established 
habit,  let  me  here,  at  the  hazard  of  wearying  the  reader, 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  863 

venture  to  reason  upon  the  matter.  The  uterus  is  prin- 
cipally composed  of  white  muscular  fibre,  upon  which 
structure  heat  has  a  sedative  and  cold  has  a  stimulative 
action.  The  members  of  our  profession  well  know  this 
fact ;  and  the  reader,  who  can  hardly  be  unacquainted 
with  the  colic,  may  in  that  affection  find  a  proof  to  con- 
vince him  of  its  truth.  Cold  water  will  bring  on  the 
belly-ache.  This  is  occasioned  by  a  chill  to  the  intes- 
tines, causing  their  muscular  fibre,  which  resembles  that 
of  the  womb,  to  spasmodically  contract.  The  vitality  of 
the  muscles  of  the  intestines  is  excited  ;  and  to  allay  the 
pain,  that  excitability  must  be  destroyed.  Heat  will 
effectually  do  this  ;  and  hot  clothes,  bags  of  sand,  or  bot- 
tles, are  placed  against  the  belly  for  that  purpose.  When 
the  suffering  depends  on  cold  alone,  the  relief  is  speedy  ; 
and  when  it  is  dependent  on  other  causes,  the  sense  of 
comfort  imparted  testifies  to  the  effect  of  the  application. 
The  heat  allays  the  spasm,  which  the  cold  provoked. 

Warmth,  therefore,  is  a  sedative  to  organic  muscular 
fibre  ;  and  now,  let  it  be  asked,  if  during  labor  we  should 
seek  to  dispel  the  contraction  of  the  womb  ?  During 
gestation  the  muscular  eoat  of  the  uterus  is  passive ;  but 
when  that  function  has  been  perfected,  Nature  endues  it 
with  energy  to  expel  the  foetus.  Upon  the  violence  of 
its  contractions  the  performance  of  this  important  office  is 
wholly  and  entirely  dependent.  Without  it  the  young 
cannot  be  borne  ;  and  however  painful  may  be  its  force, 
nevertheless,  such  pain  is  to  be  welcomed,  and  regarded 
thankfully.  The  throes  may  be  agonizing,  but  it  is  more 


364  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

cruel  to  check  than  to  promote  them ;  for  the  temporary 
relief  we  obtain  by  causing  them  to  cease,  will  certainly 
be  purchased  with  the  life  of  the  animal  that  enjoys  so 
dearly -bought  a  repose. 

The  shriek  of  the  bitch  during  the  time  when  a  pup 
probably  is  being  forced  into  the  world,  may  harrow  the 
heart  of  an  affectionate  master,  and  his  sympathies  may 
be  wrought  upon  by  beholding  the  convulsion  which 
stretches  every  fibre  of  her  frame.  The  sounds  may 
grate  upon  the  ear,  and  the  spectacle  may  be  terrible 
to  look  upon — for  in  dogs  I  have  seen  misery  so  power- 
fully exemplified,  that  I  do  no  wrong  to  any  man,  when 
I  suppose  the  picture  would  be  piteous  to  his  humanity 
— but  it  is  not  charity  which  would  put  a  termination  to 
the  pangs.  Place  the  bitch,  then,  in  a  warm  bath,  and 
the  appearances  almost  instantaneously  are  changed. 
The  animal  rejoices  in  the  ease  which  a  cessation  of  tor- 
ture produces.  No  doubt  she,  for  the  time,  luxuriates, 
and  her  face  expresses  the  sense  of  happiness  she  then 
enjoys.  But  her  fate  is  with  the  pleasure  sealed ;  and 
she  obtains  a  momentary  ease  to  meet  with  a  lingering, 
or  perhaps  a  frightful  death,  for  I  have  known  inflamma- 
tion of  the  womb  to  follow  the  use  of  the  warm  bath. 
The  use  of  the  warm  bath  is,  during  labor,  at  best  a 
mistake  generated  by  ignorance  ;  and  unfortunately  it  is 
one  of  those  errors  which  can  rarely  be  afterwards  re- 
deemed ;  for  the  weakness  it  induces  is  so  great,  that 
the  tonicity  required  in  parturition  is  destroyed  ;  and  this 
no  medicine  can  restore. 


DOGS  !     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  365 

Another  common  failing  in  veterinary  practitioners  is, 
a  belief  that  the  ergot  of  rye,  or  secale  cornutum,  acts 
upon  the  dog  as  a  direct  uterine  excitant,  and  thus  pro- 
motes the  parturitive  function.  In  this  belief,  however, 
they  are  not  single.  Many  writers  speak  with  confi- 
dence of  its  operation  upon  the  animal.  The  accounts 
are  positive  ;  and  I  would  not  lightly  place  my  unsup- 
ported testimony  to  the  fact  against  a  host  of  authors 
who  can  be  suspected  of  no  motive  to  misstate.  The 
gentlemen  alluded  to  are  authorities  of  such  weight  that 
a  strong  conviction  of  the  truth  is  required  to  make  me 
advance,  against  such  and  so  many  witnesses,  my  single 
word.  The  reader  must,  however,  take  both  for  what 
they  are  worth ;  and  remember  the  truth  is  not  the  less 
true  because  there  may  be  but  one  humble  individual 
ranged  upon  its  side.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  say  the 
authors  who  speak  decidedly  concerning  the  action  of 
the  ergot  on  the  bitch  had  no  grounds  for  the  statements 
they  advance.  I  should  not  be  justified  in  making  so 
gross  an  assertion ;  on  the  contrary,  I  believe  sincerely 
they  saw  all  which  they  narrate  ;  but,  nevertheless,  I  am 
prepared  to  maintain  that  secale  cornutum  is  not  an 
excitant  to  the  uterus  of  the  dog  in  that  sense  which 
would  warrant  the  veterinary  practitioner  in  regarding  it 
as  a  lawful  agent.  To  be  so  esteemed  by  such  persons, 
it  should  be  both  safe  and  certain  in  its  operation.  It 
should  not  only  possess  a  chance  of  doing  good  in  one 
direction,  but  it  ought  to  be  attended  with  no  probability 
of  doing  harm  in  another  way.  It  may,  in  the  hands  of 


366  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

others,  have  caused  the  uterus  to  contract,  and  thus  have 
favored  parturition,  or  have  brought  about  abortion.  I 
have  seen  it  do  neither,  but  I  cannot  say  it  has  never 
thus  acted  ;  I  am  in  no  position  to  prove  the  negative. 
When  I  have  given  it  to  the  animal,  it  has  disordered 
the  stomach  and  induced  vomition.  The  dogs  I  tried  its 
action  upon  might  possibly  have  been  bad  subjects  for 
experiment,  but  I  am  not  aware  that  they  presented  any 
peculiarity.  In  every  case  that  has  passed  under  my 
observation,  secale  cornutum  has  been  injurious  ;  and  I 
fear  lest  it  may  be  so,  when  employed  by  others ;  I, 
therefore,  discountenance  its  use,  declaring  the  custom  of 
exhibiting  it  with  a  view  to  quicken  labor  to  be  danger- 
ous. I  have  used  it  as  an  emetic,  though  rarely  ;  as,  for 
ordinary  circumstances,  there  are  preferable  agents  at 
command  ;  but  for  some  time  I  have  abandoned  its  em- 
ployment as  a  parturient  for  the  bitch. 

To  reconcile,  in  some  measure,  the  opposite  opinions, 
and  explain  the  probable  source  of  difference,  let  the 
reader  consider  the  possible  conditions  of  the  ani- 
mals I  and  others  have  subjected  to  observation.  The 
medical  man,  when  experimentalising  upon  a  dog,  gene- 
rally buys  the  animal ;  and  as  he  merely  wants  a  life  to 
practise  upon,  he  does  not  give  money  to  procure  beauty 
or  high  breed  ;  cheapness  is  an  object  with  him  ;  and 
any  unfortunate  straggling  brute,  that  can  with  impunity 
be  trapped,  is  sufficient  for  his  purpose.  Such  unhappy 
creatures  are  to  be  caught  roaming  about  the  country ; 
perhaps  poorly  fed,  but  strong  and  low-bred  curs. 


DOGS  t    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  367 

The  dogs  I  am  called  to  are  not  of  this  kind.  They 
have  been  tenderly  fostered,  and  generally  their  health 
has  been  deteriorated  by  the  excess  of  care  bestowed 
upon  them.  They  are  high-bred  animals,  and  their 
sensibility  is  equal  to  their  caste.  My  object,  also,  is  not 
to  play  with  life,  but  to  save  it ;  and  that  at  which  the 
medical  man  would  laugh,  I  have  reasons  to  regard  with 
a  serious  countenance.  Therefore,  the  accident  which 
to  me  would  be  most  important,  might  to  others  be  so 
trivial  as  to  deserve  no  notice,  and  even  to  excite  no 
remark.  However,  supposing  no  accident  to  occur,  the 
vigorous  and  low-bred  mongrel  might  well  endure  that 
which  a  delicate  and  high-bred  pet  could  not  sustain. 
The  stomach  of  the  one  being  strong,  would  retain  that 
which  should  induce  violent  spasm  in  the  morbidly  sen- 
sitive organ  of  the  other.  Dogs,  it  is  true,  are  but  dogs ; 
yet,  as  a  group,  they  present  such  varieties  that  there 
can  be  many  things  asserted  of  them  which  shall  be  true 
or  untrue  as  applied  to  individuals. 

Consequently,  when  I,  writing  of  medicines  as  applied 
to  certain  descriptions  of  dogs,  assert  a  particular  agent 
is  not  in  its  action  such  as  various  writers  have  described, 
it  is  just  possible  I  may  not  contradict  the  declarations 
previously  made. 

We  may  probably  be  both  speaking  of  our  knowledge 
only  of  really  different  things.  Nominally  the  creatures 
we  each  observed  were  dogs  ;  but  though  they  were  the 
same  in  race,  in  capabilities  and  bulk,  they  were  per- 
fectly distinct.  The  dog  of  the  pharmacologist  is  a  kind 


368  DOGil    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

of  beast  I  know  nothing  of;  I  am  ignorant — entirely 
and  totally  ignorant — of  the  creature  that  Magendie  and 
other  respectabilities  report  of.  As  to  the  tales  told  by 
the  French  physiologists,  I  confess  an  inability  to  credit 
one-third  of  them ;  and  from  the  list  of  those  narrated 
by  English  physicians,  I  am  obliged  to  make  a  very 
wide  selection.  My  unfortunate  capacity  for  incredulity 
in  this  matter  has  been  educated  by  a  professional  ac- 
quaintance with  the  animal;  and  gentlemen  must  par- 
don me  if  I  am  disposed  to  think,  they  who  are  not 
ashamed  to  publish  their  wanton  disregard  for  life  would 
not  be  very  tender  with  respect  to  a  mere  report 
about  the  creature  whose  suffering  they  despised. 
Where  sympathy  is  dead,  the  conscience  cannot  be  very 
acute. 

I  have  yet  another  custom  here  to  deprecate ;  and  I 
am  sorry  to  add,  it  is  one  which  books  and  teachers 
equally  countenance.  I  allude  to  the  employment  of 
instruments  in  parturition,  without  any  rule  being 
pointed  out  as  to  the  time  when  such  aids  are  necessary. 
Hundreds  of  bitches  are  murdered  by  the  misdirected, 
efforts  of  Veterinarians ;  and  of  the  brutalities  resorted 
to  by  other  persons,  I  designedly  take  no  notice.  Such 
fellows — mere  pretenders — are  below  the  contempt  of 
every  honest  mind  ;  and  my  indignation  passes  over 
them  to  face  the  persons  by  whom  their  interference  is 
permitted.  It  is  horrible  to  think  of  the  amount  of  tor- 
ture which  man's  favorite  animal  is  hourly  subjected  to, 
through  the  culpability  or  weakness  of  those  who  should, 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  369 

in  gratitude  for  the  poor  beast's  affections,  be  cautious  to 
protect  it. 

Poetical  as  the  dog  is  at  all  times,  I  know  of  no  cir- 
cumstance that  develops  more  pathetically  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  creature  than  that  of  pupping.  At  such  a 
time,  the  bitch  in  her  agony  seems  to  trust  more  confi- 
dently in  mankind.  Animals  that  at  other  periods  have 
allowed  no  one  to  approach  them,  at  such  moments  have 
seemed  to  welcome  me,  and  have  appeared  to  compre- 
hend the  motive  which  brought  me  to  their  sides.  To  be 
examined  they  submit ;  and  the  pain  it  will  often  occa- 
sion may  cause  the  animal  to  cry,  but  it  draws  forth  no 
sign  of  resentment.  The  eyes  are  fixed  upon  the  ope- 
rator, as  if  to  tell  him  of  the  suffering,  and  entreat  for 
his  sympathy.  The  expression  of  the  face  is  mild  and 
even  plaintive ;  but,  if  possible,  still  more  appealing  are 
the  endeavors  the  creature  almost  invariably  makes  to 
assist  her  attendant's  designs.  She  seems,  by  some  pro- 
cess that  I  cannot  otherwise  than  consider  to  be  a  mental 
one,  to  comprehend  human  motives,  and  to  more  than 
appreciate  our  intentions.  Her  gratitude  now  would  ap- 
pear to  be  intense,  and  her  confidence  to  be  boundless. 
Where  I  have  reluctantly  been  necessitated  to  resort  to 
force,  the  dragging  of  a  dead  pup  through  a  swollen  pas- 
sage has  produced  the  pain  which  brought  a  sharp  shriek 
from  the  animal ;  the  agony  has  been  such  that  even 
the  fortitude  of  the  canine  parent  could  not  silently  sus- 
tain ;  and  under  its  almost  maddening  influence,  the  head 
lias  been  turned  instinctively  to  bite.  The  natural  im- 

16* 


870  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

pulse,  however,  was  never  fully  gratified ;  the  nose  has 
touched  my  hand,  but  the  jaws  have  closed  before  they 
grasped  it.  I  have  then  distinctly  felt  the  snapping  mo- 
tion, and  plainly  heard  the  teeth  rattle  as  they  quickly 
hit  against  each  other,  but  they  have  never  injured  me. 
The  dog  could  not  repress  the  natural  instinct ;  but 
though  the  hand  was  against  its  mouth,  the  noble  beast 
has  bitten  the  air. 

If  men  knew  more  of  dogs,  the  animal  would  be  more 
esteemed.  The  persons  who  pretend  to  dislike  them  are 
always  ignorant  of  the  creatures.  It  is  impossible  for 
human  beings  to  see  much  of,  and  be  acquainted  with, 
these  despised  brutes,  without  becoming  their  admirers. 
To  like  dogs  denotes  no  peculiarity  of  taste  or  strange- 
ness of  disposition ;  for  he  must  be  incapable  of  appre- 
ciating natural  goodness,  who  can  observe  these  animals 
and  not  grow  fond  of  them.  There  is  no  mental  sympa- 
thy between  a  shrub  and  ourselves ;  yet  a  passion  for 
flowers  is  pretended  to  by  many  who  cultivate  a  horror 
of  the  canine  race.  Both  feelings  are  affections,  and  a 
person  of  good  sense  would  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge 
either.  Flowers  are  sweet  and  pretty,  but  man  cannot 
love  such  things ;  whereas,  between  us  and  dogs  there 
can  be  a  positive  bond  of  affection.  In  this  world  no  one 
should  be  proud  of  disliking  anything  it  is  possible  for 
him  to  love,  or  indulge  a  hatred  towards  any  life  that  can 
adore  him. 

I  have  too  many  reasons  to  be  grateful  for  the  genero- 
sity of  the  brute,  not  to  feel  warmly  toward  it.  There  is 


DOGS*.    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  37l 

no  day  my  hands  are  not  spared,  for  they  are  constantly 
exposed,  and  never  protected;  and  I  should  long  ago 
have  been  torn  to  pieces  if  the  canine  race  were  legiti- 
mate objects  of  dread.  Therefore  I  merely  discharge  a 
debt,  when  I  assert  the  magnanimity  of  the  creature ;  and 
it  is  a  duty  on  my  part  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  benefit 
the  despised  brute.  With  that  object  I  speak  most  unre- 
servedly, in  condemnation  of  the  way  in  which  instru- 
ments are  employed  during  parturition.  Many  various 
inventions  are  sold  in  shops ;  and  of  these,  the  great 
majority  are  very  dangerous.  Of  themselves,  very  few 
indeed  are  safe,  with  any  skill;  and  most  are  seldom 
needed.  In  the  mode  of  employing  them,  they  are  almost 
sure  to  do  injury  ;  for  in  ninety -nine  cases  out  of  every 
hundred,  they  are  introduced  much  too  early,  and  in  the 
hundredth  they  are  used  with  unnecessary  violence. 

Before  any  instrument  is  employed,  the  pup  should  be 
within  the  pelvis.  The  forceps  sold  in  shops  are  made 
with  the  intention  of  dragging  the  foetus  from  the  womb ; 
and  one  of  the  difficulties  the  practitioner  is  supposed  to 
encounter  in  parturition  of  the  bitch,  is  taught  to  be  the 
impossibility  of  hauling  the  foetus  from  the  horn  of  the 
uterus.  One  pup  generally  occupies  the  body  of  the 
womb,  and  the  rest  of  the  litter  are  located  in  the  horns. 
That  is  their  natural  situation  ;  and  as  in  the  gravid  state 
the  length  of  the  horns  is  greatly  extended,  of  course 
some  occupy  a  place  far  within  the  abdomen.  The 
length  of  the  horns,  however,  though  supposed  to  consti- 
tute the  only  obstacle,  is  not  the  single  cause  which  pre- 


372  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

vents  the  pup  being  reached  by  instruments.  The  horns, 
in  consequence  of  their  greater  length,  become  bent,  or 
folded  upon  themselves ;  so  that  an  instrument  which 
should  drag  the  pups  to  light,  where  more  than  two  or 
three  are  present,  should  be  made  to  pass  forward  in  the 
first  instance,  and  then  be  constructed  to  take  a  back- 
ward direction.  Those  who  invented  these  instruments  to 


THE    GRAVID    UTERUS, 


deliver  bitches  with,  would  seem  to  have  been  ignorant 
of  this  necessity ;  and  I  here  mention  it  to  prove  how 
perfectly  inadequate  such  things  are  for  the  purpose 
intended. 

Before  any  instrument  is  employed,  the  pup  should  be 
within  the  vagina.  This  is  a  rule  that  can  hardly  be 
with  impunity  violated  by  the  generality  of  practitioners. 
Simple  and  brief  as  may  be  the  direction,  it  is  one  that 
only  on  rare  occasions  may  be  safely  disregarded ;  and 
of  the  exceptional  case,  mention  will  be  made  hereafter. 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  373 

The  pup  must  be  within  the  passage  ;  and  not  only  there, 
but  so  there,  as  to  seem  impacted,  before  assistance  by 
means  of  instruments  is  necessary.  The  largest  foetus 
can,  in  almost  every  case,  proceed  thus  far ;  and  where 
it  is  of  too  great  a  size  to  come  so  low,  any  interference 
would  be  desperate  ;  for  then  it  must  be  of  such  a  magni- 
tude as  to  destroy  the  probability  of  delivery  being 
accomplished. 

When  the  pup  has  not  entered  the  pelvis,  the  practi- 
tioner may  be  assured  the  obstacle  is  not  created  by  the 
disproportioned  size  of  the  young.  The  labor  either  has 
not  proceeded  far  enough,  and  time  is  required  for  its 
completion  ;  or  the  uterus  is  feeble,  and  stimulants  are 
wanted  to  invigorate  it.  The  largest  foetus  can  be  moved 
by  the  womb ;  so  the  size  must  be  an  impediment  only 
to  its  passage  through  the  vagina.  There  is  therefore 
no  mechanical  hindrance  before  that  part  has  been 
reached,  and  no  mechanical  assistance  at  an  earlier  period 
is  imperative. 

When  the  veterinarian  is  called  to  a  labor  that  has 
already  commenced,  and  perhaps  been  some  time  about, 
he  directs  his  first  attention  to  the  orifice.  If  the  peri- 
neum looks  unnaturally  distended,  so  large  as  to  be 
remarkable,  the  presence  of  a  pup  in  the  vagina  may  be 
concluded ;  and  here  he  must  know  how  to  act  with 
decision. 

If  the  throes  are  on,  and  strong,  though  evidence  of 
pain  be  heard,  we  must  not  be  too  quick  to  interfere.  If 
there  be  anything  like  a  bladder  protruding  from  the 


374  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

vulva,  nothing  whatever  must  be  done.  In  easy  births 
the  pups  invariably  come  into  the  world  enveloped  in 
their  membranes,  and  thereby  their  egress  seems  to  be 
greatly  accelerated.  If  these  burst,  or  are  broken,  the 
delivery  is  thereby  rendered  more  difficult.  The  mem- 
branes consequently,  if  protruding,  should  not  be  touched. 
Some  persons,  I  know,  seize  them  under  an  idea,  that  by 
pulling  at  these,  or  at  the  cord',  the  foetus  can  be  brought 
away.  The  notion  is  fallacious.  With  the  first  or  second 
pup  the  membrane  may  be  visible ;  and,  nevertheless,  the 
labor  may  not  then  have  proceeded  far  enough  to 
detach  all  the  placenta.  The  entirety  of  the  caul,  or 
water-bag,  denotes  that  the  foetus  is  alive;  and  it  also 
shows  that  Nature  is  proceeding  to  accomplish,  in  due 
time,  her  offices. 

The  position  which  the  bitch  assumes  during  labor 
also  deserves  to  be  noted.  While  she  remains  within  her 
bed,  and  continues  lying  upon  her  side,  however  tedious 
may  be  the  labor,  there  is  little  reason  for  apprehension. 
A  few  cries  vented  when  the  throes  are  present,  or  a  moan 
or  two  emitted  when  they  are  coming  on,  may  be 
expected,  and  deserve  little  observation ;  but  when  the 
bitch  gives  forth  sharp,  short  exclamations,  leaves  her 
house  or  basket,  and  places  herself  in  the  attitude  she 
takes  when  voiding  her  faeces,  there  is  cause  to  conclude 
something  wrong,  and  requiring  immediate  help,  has 
taken  place. 

Most  authorities  make  mention  of  what  are  called 
wrong  presentations  ;  and  such  are  very  commonly  met 


DOGS  I     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  375 

with  in  the  cow,  mare,  and  the  larger  animals  ;  but  I 
have  never  known  a  case  of  false  presentation  in  the 
bitch  ;  and  I  am  led  to  conclude  that  the  authors  who 
narrated  such  cases,  drew  upon  their  experience  in  other 
directions,  describing  imaginative  possibilities  as  circum- 
stances that  had  actually  occurred.  I  do  not  well  com- 
prehend how  a  false  presentation  could  take  place  in  this 
animal,  and  I  can  grant  the  possibility  of  its  ever  having 
been  witnessed  to  the  first  pup  alone.  It  is  remotely 
possible  that  this  one  should  be  presented  sideways, 
though  highly  improbable  it  could  take  such  a  position. 
After  the  womb  has  expelled  the  first  of  the  litter,  the 
body  of  the  generative  organ  contracts  ;  and  all  the 
others  must  pass  through  it  in  a  line  favorable  to  the 
birth. 

It  is  of  little  consequence,  in  the  young  of  the  dog, 
whether  the  head  or  tail  be  first  born.  Examples  in  both 
directions  are  always  witnessed  in  every  puppying.  So 
likewise  is  it  of  small  importance  how  the  legs  are  placed, 
though  of  course  delivery  is  favored  by  their  being  pro- 
perly arranged.  At  the  time  of  birth,  however,  the  bones 
of  the  pup  are  but  partially  consolidated  ;  and  that  cir- 
cumstance causes  them  not  to  offer  those  serious  obstruc- 
tions which  they  are  found  to  present  in  other  creatures. 
The  gelatinous  mass  readily  takes  the  form  required  for 
its  expulsion  ;  and  the  practitioner  has  little  reason  to 
perplex  himself  concerning  those  particulars  which  in  the 
calf  or  foal  he  knows  to  be  of  vital  import. 

The  principal  obstruction  to  birth  in  the  bitch  springs 


376  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

from  the  weakness  of  the  creature.  To  this  its  suffer- 
ings, and  the  too  frequent  tediousness  of  its  labor,  are  to 
be  mostly  attributed.  When  there  are  evident  signs  of 
debility — shown  by  the  throes  having  subsided,  and  fur- 
ther evidenced  by  no  symptom  of  their  reappearance 
being  witnessed  after  three  or  four  hours'  watching — 
from  a  teaspoonful  to  a  table-spoonful  of  brandy,  mixed 
with  sugar  and  cold  water,  may  be  administered  ;  and  in 
half  an  hour  repeated,  if  it  should  have  no  effect.  This 
I  have  seldom  found  to  fail,  and  never  have  I  known  it 
to  do  injury ;  wherefore  I  prefer  it  to  the  ergot  of  rye, 
which  in  my  hands  has  been  uncertain  and  injurious. 
Patience,  however,  is  more  often  needed,  than  stimulants 
required ;  and  before  the  latter  are  resorted  to,  the  symp- 
toms of  debility  ought  to  be  recognised ;  for  without  these 
be  perceived,  the  passive  condition  of  the  uterus  de- 
serves no  immediate  attention. 

When  the  throes  are  on,  the  efforts  may  be  assisted. 
This  is  best  done  by  placing  the  hands  under  the  abdo- 
men, and  with  them  making  pressure  whenever  the 
straining  appears.  The  hands,  however,  must  not  be 
held  so  long  as  will  let  them  get  hot;  for,  by  commu- 
nicating warmth,  more  harm  is  done  than  the  benefit 
afforded  is  likely  to  compensate.  The  object  in  placing 
the  hands  under  the  belly  is,  to  brace  and  give  support 
to  the  abdominal  muscles  ;  which,  in  the  dog,  are  natu- 
rally weak,  and  in  the  bitch  during  gestation  always 
become  attenuated. 

Cold  cloths  to  the  abdomen  will  also  in  some  cases — 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  377 

but  not  in  all— excite  the  uterus,  and  bring  on  vigorous 
throes.  The  coldest  water  I  could  procure  is  that  of  the 
temperature  employed  by  me  ;  and  it  has  seldom,  to  my 
knowledge,  been  otherwise  than  beneficial. 

When  the  birth  is  long  delayed,  the  bladder  and  rec- 
tum should  be  examined  and  emptied  of  their  contents 
by  means  of  the  injection-pipe  and  catheter.  To  draw 
off  the  urine  of  the  bitch  is  not  difficult  or  dangerous.  A 
knowledge  of  the  situation  of  the  meatus,  or  termination 
of  the  urethra,  is  necessary  to  the  operation ;  and  this  is 
best  obtained  by  dissection.  It  lies  within  the  pelvis,  a 
short  way  anterior  to  the  brim,  and  above  the  symphysis 
of  the  ischium.  I  know  that  while  endeavoring  to  ex- 
plain, I  am  here  making  use  of  words  which  will  to  the 
majority  of  readers  convey  no  meaning ;  nevertheless,  I 
cannot  be  more  clear.  I  have,  however,  in  a  communica- 
tion to  the  Veterinarian,  entered  into  this  matter ;  and  I 
here  extract  from  that  journal  part  of  a  paper  published 
in  the  number  for  January,  1849  : — 

"  With  regard  to  the  bitch,  I  always  let  the  animal 
stand  upon  her  legs,  simply  having  an  assistant  to  hold 
the  head  and  engage  the  attention  of  the  creature.  The 
meatus  lies  about  half  an  inch  or  two  inches  within  the 
pelvis,  the  distance  varying  with  the  size  of  the  dog. 
The  line  of  the  urethra  is  rather  forward  than  downward, 
though,  of  course,  in  both  directions.  After  having  once 
or  twice  passed  the  instrument,  it  is  surprising  how  very 
readily  this  conjectured  impossibility  is  performed.  I 
think  so  little  of  the  difficulties,  that  I  have  no  inclina- 
tion to  dilate  upon  the  few  precautions  which  are  requir- 


378  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

ed  to  remove  them.  I  may,  however,  here  state,  that, 
when  grasping  the  penis  of  the  dog,  a  handkerchief  or  a 
portion  of  tow  will  be  required  to  render  the  hold  secure  ; 
and  the  wire  should,  before  the  catheter  is  introduced,  be 
withdrawn,  while  it  ought  to  be  moistened  with  olive  oil 
to  facilitate  its  passage,  as  the  canal  is  not  unfrequently 
devoid  of  mucus." 

When  the  pup  is  partly  born,  and  its  passage  appears 
to  be  delayed,  either  through  the  feebleness  of  the  throes 
or  some  mechanical  impediment,  assistance  should  be 
afforded.  The  restlessness  of  the  bitch  will,  perhaps,  be 
the  most  proper  indication  ;  and  it  is  the  more  necessary 
to  be  cautious  in  our  interference,  as,  on  account  of  the 
size  of  the  animal,  the  aid  we  can  afford  is  limited. 
When  a  paw  is  to  be  seen,  this  may  be  laid  hold  of ;  but 
not  without  the  fingers  being  covered ;  for,  as  the  limb  is 
slippery,  the  force  intended  to  secure  it  would  hardly 
render  the  grasp  confirmed,  and  might  crush  the  member. 
The  osseous  structure  in  the  pup  at  birth,  as  I  have 
already  stated,  is  not  consolidated ;  and  all  other  compo- 
nents of  the  body  are  in  a  condition  proportionally  imma- 
tured.  The  tiny  being,  when  first  brought  into  the 
world,  is  little  better  than  a  living  mass  of  pulp ;  and  on 
that  account,  it  must  be  gently  handled.  Far  less  vio- 
lence than  might  be  supposed  requisite  to  do  so,  will  dis- 
member it ;  and  no  vast  force  is  needed  to  pull  even  the 
head  from  the  trunk.  Aware  of  this,  the  efforts  intended 
for  the  delivery  must  be  regulated  by  the  power  of  the 
substance  to  endure  them.  The  practitioner  must  take  a 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  379 

thin,  soft  cloth,  or  what  is  better,  his  silk  pocket-hand- 
kerchief, and  with  this  lay  hold  of  any  part  that  can  be 
grasped.  If  but  one  leg  can  be  got  hold  of,  that  must  be 
secured,  and  an  attempt  made  to  bring  forward  the 
other.  The  two  being  obtained,  gentle  force  or  traction 
may  be  through  them  applied  while  the  throes  are  on. 
The  dragging  must  not  be  strong,  as,  if  the  pup  be  alive, 
it  will  be  injured ;  or,  alive  or  dead,  it  may  be  torn  to 
pieces. 

A  broken  pup,  as  the  fetus  is  called  when  any  part  of 
it  has  been  pulled  off,  is  always  more  dangerous  to  the 
life  of  the  bitch,  and  much  more  difficult  to  get  away, 
than  one  that  is  entire.  The  impediment  bears  relation 
to  the  extent  of  the  mutilation.  Thus  the  separation  of 
the  head  is  more  serious  than  the  deprivation  of  a  limb  ; 
for,  let  not  the  reader  imagine  that  in  the  dog,  as  in  the 
cow  or  mare,  embryotomy  by  means  of  a  knife  can  be 
successfully  resorted  to.  I  have  endeavored  sometimes 
to  perform  craniotomy,  or  to  remove  the  brains  of  the 
foetus,  hoping  by  so  reducing  the  bulk  of  the  head  to 
facilitate  the  delivery ;  but  the  result  has  displeased  me, 
and  I  no  longer  follow  the  practice.  The  pup,  if  to  be 
got  away  at  all,  will  be  most  easily  removed  entire ;  and 
that  it  may  not  have  its  integrity  destroyed,  the  assist- 
ance given  to  the  mother  must  be  temperate.  Every 
little  aid  is  a  help  to  the  labor ;  and  knowing  that, 
we  must  be  content  if  we  are  denied  to  accomplish  all. 
The  traction,  assisted  by  a  secure  grasp,  should  be 
steady ;  and  the  lips  of  the  part  should  at  the  same  time 


380  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

be  as  much  as  possible  pulled  open  with  the  fingers  of 
the  free  hand.  Mild,  soothing,  and  encouraging  words 
will,  during  the  operation,  be  of  every  consequence  ;  and 
it  is  of  importance  that,  in  every  particular,  the  animal 
should  be  humored  to  the  extent  of  possibility.  Re- 
straint should  be  enforced  only  where  absolutely  neces- 
sary ;  and  when  it  is  so,  the  creature  will  strangely  com- 
prehend the  reason  that  compels,  and  patiently,  or  at  least 
without  resentment,  submit  to  its  endurance.  A  harsh 
word,  however,  or  a  blow,  or  both  together,  too  fre- 
quently gratify  the  impatience  of  the  practitioner,  and, 
at  this  time,  often  dispel  the  throes  on  which  the  birth 
depends.  The  dog  is  ever  sensitive  to  correction ;  no 
living  being  more  acutely  feels  rebuke  or  praise ;  and  its 
excitable  nature,  lighted  up  by  the  pains  of  labor,  can- 
not then  endure  unkindness,  and  should  receive  our  sym- 
pathy. Good  language,  no  hurry,  and  a  rejection  of  all 
violence,  will  do  more  for  a  desperate  case  than  all 
the  drugs  in  the  pharmacy,  or  all  the  tact  which  inge- 
nuity is  possessed  of. 

To  secure  the  legs,  when  they  can  be  felt,  Elaine 
recommends  a  skein  of  worsted.  I  have  not  found  that 
article  of  any  use  whatever.  If  introduced  into  the 
vagina,  it  soon  becomes  moist,  adheres  to  the  finger,  and 
cannot  be  detached  from  it.  If,  however,  applied  in  a 
loop  or  slip-knot  round  a  paw,  I  have  known  it  cut 
through  the  bone  ;  and  its  only  advantage  lies  in  the 
fact  of  its  little  tendency  to  come  off  when  once  fixed. 
Even  in  that  respect,  however,  it  sometimes  disappoints, 


DOGS*.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  381 

and  I  consequently  no  longer  use  it.  To  supply  its 
place,  I  had  the  following  very  simple  instrument  made ; 
and  it  answers  every  intention,  although  it  is  but  seldom 
required : — 


PABTtramON  INSTBTTMKNT. 


A  tube  of  polished  metal  is  at  one  end  curved  to  suit 
the  line  of  the  pelvis,  and  at  the  other  it  is  grooved,  and 
also  has  a  small  cross-bar.  Into  the  tube  a  piece  of  zinc 
wire  is  introduced,  so  as  to  double  and  form  a  loop  at  the 
bent  extremity,  the  ends  of  the  wire  coming  forth  at  the 
other.  One  of  the  ends  of  the  wire  is  twisted  into  the 
groove,  so  as  to  render  it  fast ;  and  that  being  done,  the 
instrument  is  prepared  for  use.  When  required,  it  is 
introduced  with  the  loop  of  wire  upon  the  point  of  the 
finger,  and  the  paw  it  is  desired  to  fix  being  felt,  the 
finger  is  withdrawn,  and  the  instrument  moved  forward. 
The  free  end  of  the  wire  is  then  pulled  to  render  the 
hold  secure  ;  when  it  is  twisted  round  the  projecting  bar 
and  made  secure.  By  employing  a  pliable  wire,  we  gain 
those  advantages  which  arise  from  its  not  becoming 
flabby  and  adherent  when  the  part  is  moist ;  but  it 
retains  its  form,  and  is  therefore  more  readily  directed, 


382  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

The  tube  assists  us  in  guiding  the  loop,  which,  being 
once  fixed,  can  be  made  secure,  so  that  traction  does  not 
afterwards  further  tighten  it.  The  danger,  however,  is 
not  entirely  removed;  for,  if  undue  force  be  used,  the 
wire  may  do  injury  as  well  as  the  worsted  ;  and  for  that 
reason  I  seldom  resort  to  it,  unless  assured  the  pup  is 
dead,  when  the  pains  are  generally  slight,  and  additional 
force  is  often  necessitated. 

When  the  pup  dies  before  birth,  the  membranes  in 
which  it  is  enveloped  generally  rupture  ;  and  by  intro- 
ducing the  finger,  the  foetus  is  to  be  felt  without  these 
interposing.  The  mere  rupture  of  the  membranes,  and 
the  emission  of  the  meconium — a  dark,  greenish,  semi- 
fluid substance — will  not  alone  convince  us  of  the  fact ; 
but,  if  the  labor  has  been  prolonged,  if  the  throes  are 
almost  lost,  and  if  no  motion  can  be  detected  in  the  pup, 
we  may  conclude  the  life  has  departed. 

Dead  pups  are  more  difficult  to  deliver,  and  stimulants 
are  generally  needed  to  promote  their  expulsion ;  but 
manual  help  is  to  be  given  with  caution.  Youatt  speaks 
of  working  hard,  till  his  nail  was  soft  and  his  finger  sore, 
for  two  hours  at  a  time ;  and  that  author  tells  us  the 
passage  was,  by  his  industry  and  frequent  examinations, 
so  much  swollen,  that  only  with  considerable  difficulty 
could  the  finger  be  passed. 

The  humanity  which  shines  in  every  wish  that  writer 
ever  penned,  and  the  purpose  of  all  his  teaching,  assures 
us  he  thought  such  a  proceeding  was  not  only  imperative 
but  praiseworthy.  He  was,  however,  a  good  man  actu- 


DOGS!    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  383 

ated  by  an  imperfect  knowledge.  Let  no  one  follow  his 
example  ;  but  be  passive  till  the  time  for  action  is  ascer- 
tained— and  it  is  of  no  use  to  grope  for  it.  Frequent 
examinations  are  injurious;  the  more  seldom  they  are 
made  the  better ;  for,  if  undertaken  only  when  the 
judgment  sees  a  chance  of  hope,  no  harm  will  be  occa- 
sioned. Under  every  delay,  therefore,  have  patience  ; 
for  often  the  pup  which  originally  would  resist  every 
attempt  to  bring  it  forth,  will,  after  it  has  been  dead  a 
few  hours,  be  delivered  with  a  facility  we  could  not  anti- 
cipate. If  the  parts  are  not  irritated  and  rendered  dry, 
there  is  little  to  be  apprehended  ;  but  if  this  be  done,  in- 
flammation of  the  uterus  is  apt  to  be  induced,  and  should 
that  occur,  it  is  of  little  consequence  to  the  life  of  the 
bitch  whether  the  pup  be  delivered  or  not  delivered. 

From  the  pup,  whether  it  be  dead  or  alive,  we  are  not 
to  look  for  those  signs  which  denote  there  is  a  pressing 
necessity  to  accomplish  the  delivery  without  delay.  I 
have  known  a  foetus,  after  being  ascertained  to  be  dead, 
to  be  retained  four  days,  and  the  bitch  to  survive.  In- 
stances of  the  dead  pup  remaining  in  the  womb  a  day  or 
two  are  very  common ;  and,  if  we  had  no  other  proofs, 
these  would  be  sufficient  to  convince  us  there  need  be  no 
immediate  hurry.  When,  however,  the  bitch  becomes 
restless,  gets  in  and  out  of  her  bed,  pants,  staggers, 
refuses  food,  drinks  largely,  and  is  shortly  afterwards 
sick ;  when  the  tongue  becomes  dry,  and  the  pulse 
grows  quick  and  thin,  or  unnaturally  hard  and  strong, 
there  is  danger,  and  at  every  hazard  delivery  must  be 


384  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

accomplished.  There  will,  however,  then  only  be  a  dis- 
tant chance  of  success ;  and  where  these  indications  have 
been  remarked,  the  life  of  the  mother  has  generally  been 
lost.  If  a  portion  of  the  litter  has  been  born,  and,  on 
the  appearance  of  the  symptoms  just  described,  the  pups 
refuse  to  suck,  and  when  placed  to  the  teats  turn  from 
them,  the  termination  will  be  fatal.  The  milk  seems  to 
have  lost  its  inviting  properties,  and  to  be  rendered  dis- 
gusting by  the  approach  of  death ;  and  the  sign  is  as 
conclusive  as  the  departure  of  vermin  from  the  carcase 
of  an  animal. 

Forcible  delivery  is  to  be  accomplished  by  every 
means  in  our  power ;  for  it  is  undertaken  only  when  hope 
by  ordinary  process  is  despaired  of.  Forceps  of  any 
kind,  however,  are  to  be  employed  with  extreme  care. 
These  instruments  are  always  dangerous  in  the  bitch ;  as 
we  cannot  see,  and  can  but  imperfectly  feel,  so  there  is 
little  guide  to  their  proper  use.  The  crochet,  a  blunt 
hook — and  for  the  dog  it  can  hardly  be  too  blunt — is  to 
be  preferred.  As  I  have  before  submitted  to  the  public 
my  opinion  of  this  instrument,  I  here  extract  from  a 
paper  which  appeared  in  The  Veterinarian  for  February, 
1847 :— 


THE    CROCHET. 


"  I  was  obliged  to  meet  my  pupils  in  the  evening,  and 
was  not  sorry  to   leave  a  case  which  had  now,  in   my 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  385 

mind,  become  hopeless ;  but  as  I  walked,  I  could  not  for- 
bear thinking  of  that  which  had  occupied  most  of  my 
attention  during  the  day.  The  different  instruments 
employed  to  facilitate  the  labors  of  different  animals 
passed  in  review  before  me ;  but  some  were  not  applica- 
ble to  the  dog,  and  others  could  not  be  manufactured 
with  sufficient  speed  to  benefit  my  present  patient.  The 
crochet,  used  with  such  power  by  the  human  practitioner, 
seemed  the  one  most  likely  to  avail ;  indeed,  it  had  often 
before  occurred  to  me,  that  an  adaptation  of  this  instrument 
would,  in  our  hands,  be  of  infinite  service ;  and,  after  I 
had  dismissed  my  class,  I  hurried  to  procure  what  I  had 
conceived  would  be  useful.  Mr.  Perry,  to  whom  I  applied, 
had  a  human  crotchet  in  his  shop,  and  this  he  consented  to 
alter  according  to  my  directions.  I  stayed  till  the  altera- 
tions were  completed,  and  by  eleven  at  night  reached 
home,  to  put  the  adaptation  of  the  crotchet  to  the  test.  It 
answered  beyond  my  utmost  expectation,  and  I  was  ena- 
bled to  bring  away  the  whole  of  the  contents  of  the  womb 
with  comparative  ease.  Four  pups  were  extracted  ;  and 
while  I  compared  them  with  the  little  animal  from  which 
they  had  been  removed,  it  required  the  evidence  of  my 
senses  to  convince  me  that  the  disproportioned  mass  had 
been  forced  through  the  narrow  passage  of  the  Italian 
greyhound's  vagina.  The  pups  were  all  dead.  Each 
bore  the  well-marked  character  of  the  Russian,  and  by 
their  size  indicated  their  sire  :  nor  was  that  size  decreased 
by  their  having  been  retained  a  week  beyond  their  usual 
period. 

"  So  far  my  labor  was  accomplished ;  but  the  appear- 
ance of  the  bitch  indicated  that  all  had  been  done  to 
little  purpose.  The  pulse  began  to  decrease  in  number, 
and,  nevertheless,  continued  hard  and  jerking — the  eyes 
became  fixed — the  jaw  closed — the  head  pendulous — and 

17 


386  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

all  the  symptoms  of  approaching  death  were  exhibited. 
I  tried  to  support  the  system  ;  but  the  poor  animal  died 
in  spite  of  every  attention,  and  the  examination  after 
death  showed  the  womb  to  be  intensely  inflamed. 

"It  was  with  some  anxiety  that  I  looked  for  injuries 
and  abrasions,  scarcely  deeming  it  possible  the  violence  I 
had  necessarily  employed  had  not  lacerated  the  delicate 
structure  with  which  the  instrument  had  been  in  contact. 
Not  a  mark  which  I  could  attribute  to  the  crotchet  was 
to  be  discovered.  I  have  seen  fearful  wounds  made  by 
the  forceps  used  to  deliver  the  bitch ;  but  here,  in  the 
most  desperate  case  of  the  kind  which  I  had  ever  under- 
taken, was  not  a  scratch  or  a  bruise  to  be  detected. 

"  I  have  since  confirmed  the  indications  of  utility  which 
were  given  by  the  crotchet  on  the  first  occasion  of  its 
employment ;  and  had  I  not  received  such  proofs  in  its 
favor  as  appeared  to  be  conclusive,  I  should,  perhaps,  on 
the  results  of  a  few  cases  only,  have  hesitated  to  introduce 
it  to  general  notice.  Besides  the  instances  before  alluded 
to,  I  have  employed  the  instrument  on  four  occasions — 
three  times  in  my  own  practice,  and  once  at  the  request 
of  a  practitioner,  whose  name  it  is  desired  I  should  con- 
ceal. Two  of  the  cases  were  successful,  so  far  as  the 
bitches  were  concerned ;  one,  which  was  evidently  sink- 
ing when  brought  to  me,  was  delivered  of  a  pup  in  a 
decomposed  state,  and  died  five  hours  afterwards,  the 
post-mortem  displaying  acute  peritonitis ;  the  other, 
which  I  attended  to  yesterday,  was  alive  when  I  last 
saw  it ;  but  I  am  of  opinion  its  hours  are  numbered.  The 
pulse  is  hard,  but  not  quick — the  animal  restless — and 
the  eye  dull :  worse  symptoms  can  hardly  be  present. 
The  poor  beast  had  been  left  too  long  unassisted  for  help 
of  any  kind  to  be  of  much  avail. 

"  Of  the  pups  brought  forth  by  the  aid  of  the  crotchet, 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  387 

the  majority  were  dead ;  indeed,  though  safe  to  the 
mother,  the  instrument  is  apt  to  be  fatal  to  the  offspring. 
The  numbers  stand  thus  : — Dead  when  extracted,  7 ; 
mutilated  when  brought  forth,  and  immediately  destroyed, 
1 ;  alive,  1.  Thus  the  proportions  are  as  8  to  1  against 
the  probability  of  saving  the  pups  ;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  calculation  is  made  from  the  cases  of  which 
the  majority  were,  by  previous  delay,  rendered  hopeless, 
and  under  fairer  circumstances  the  result  might  have  been 
different. 

"  I  will  now  proceed  to  describe  the  crotchet,  $nd 
explain  the  manner  in  which  I  have  employed  that  instru- 
ment. Lt  has  been  long  known  to  the  human  accoucheur, 
but  by  him  is  not  employed  save  under  certain  condi- 
tions. A  piece  of  stout  steel  wire  constitutes  its  substance. 
The  wire,  about  twelve  inches  long,  is  flattened  at  one 
extremity,  and  both  ends  crooked  and  made  perfectly 
smooth  or  blunt,  the  flattened  hook  being  the  larger  of 
the  two.  For  the  dog,  the  instrument  must,  of  course,  be 
proportioned  to  the  passage  into  which  it  is  to  be  intro- 
duced ;  and  as  the  pup,  in  consequence  of  the  weakness 
of  the  abdominal  parietes  in  the  bitch,  often  is  felt  lying 
below  the  level  of  the  symphysis,  a  dip  or  lateral  bend  is 
given  to  the  hooks. 

"  So  simple  is  the  crotchet,  which  ought  to  be  highly 
polished,  in  order  to  secure  its  being  perfectly  smooth.  It 
is  first  warmed  and  greased,  then  introduced  with  the 
index  finger  of  one  hand,  while  the  other  guides  the 
instrument  into  the  womb.  The  foetus  is  to  be  first  felt, 
and  this  is  the  more  readily  done  if  an  assistant  supports 
and  compresses  the  abdomen.  When  the  finger  has 
ascertained  that  the  pup  is  favorably  placed,  the  hook 
(and  I  generally  use  the  flattened  extremity  of  the  instru- 
ment) is  to  be  pushed  forward  and  then  retracted,  until 


388  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

the  operator  is  aware  that  a  firm  hold  has  been  obtained. 
The  purchase  being  secure,  the  finger  is  to  be  employed 
to  keep  the  foetus  from  escaping,  by  pushing  it  against  or 
towards  the  point  of  the  crotchet,  and  holding  it  there. 
Traction  is  now  made  steadily  and  in  the  proper  direc- 
tion ;  and  the  assistant  at  the  same  time,  by  manipulating 
the  belly,  facilitates  the  delivery  of  the  bitch,  which  should 
be  in  a  standing  position — not  upon  its  back. 

"  The  directions  are  not  very  complex,  but  they  must 
not  on  that  account  be  disregarded.  By  introducing  the 
finger,  and  taking  care  that  its  extremity  corresponds 
with  the  point  of  the  instrument,  a  great  object  is  gained 
by  securing  the  pup  more  firmly  :  yet  there  are  other 
advantages  also  obtained  by  this  mode  of  operating. 
The  head  of  the  foetus  is  generally  too  large  for  the 
vagina,  and  hence  the  difficulty  of  its  expulsion ;  but  by 
the  employment  of  an  instrument  which  is  simultane- 
ously to  pass,  we  appear  to  be  increasing  the  obstruction  : 
however,  by  compressing  the  head  with  the  end  of  the 
finger,  it  is  in  some  degree  forced  to  conform  to  the 
diameter  of  the  passage,  which  the  gelatinous  develop- 
ment of  the  pup  at  the  time  of  birth  readily  enables  it  to 
do.  Moreover,  the  hazard  of  injury  being  done,  if  the 
instrument  should  lose  its  hold,  is  guarded  against ;  for 
should  the  hook  slip,  the  point  would  be  received  upon 
the  end  of  the  finger  before  it  could  catch  the  soft  parts. 
However,  the  operator  will  feel  the  hold  giving  way  long 
before  it  is  entirely  lost,  and  will  be  enabled  to  rectify 
the  occurrence  in  the  majority  of  cases  before  there  is  a 
chance  of  accident.  The  finger,  therefore,  becomes  a 
sensible  guide  to  the  operator,  and  by  its  employment 
the  traction  is  rendered  more  firm  and  steady.  But 
above  all,  care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  instrument 
perfectly  blunt,  and  the  beaks  of  the  hooks  not  too 


DOGS  !     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  389 

long.  A  sharp  point  might,  at  the  first  glance,  seem  more 
likely  to  answer  the  purpose  in  view ;  but  its  employ- 
ment would  be  attended  with  danger,  and  on  being 
tested,  it  would  be  found  more  apt  to  tear  away.  In 
fact,  the  sharper  the  point,  the  less  firm  would  be  the 
hold,  since  the  substance  to  be  secured  is  somewhat  of  a 
pulpy  nature  ;  whereas,  by  using  as  broad  and  flat  a 
point  as  possible,  the  force  is  exerted  on  a  larger  surface, 
and  the  grasp  is  proportionably  the  more  likely  to  be 
retained ;  the  object  being  not  to  rend  the  foetus,  or  tear 
it  away,  but  to  gently  pull  it  through  the  vagina,  using 
only  so  much  violence  as  the  judgment  assures  us  is 
imperative  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  purpose." 

On  reflection,  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  measures 
adopted  in  the  case  narrated  above  were  somewhat  more 
precipitate  than  they  ought  to  have  been.  Now,  I  should 
have  taken  more  time  ;  and  the  success  does  not  assure 
me  that  the  haste  exhibited  was  fully  warranted. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  ascertain  when  the  whole  of 
the  pups  have  been  removed.  The  last  in  the  womb, 
always  occupying  the  extremity  of  one  of  the  horns  of  the 
uterus,  may  by  an  inexperienced  practitioner  be  over- 
looked. Most  persons  seek  to  learn  whether  the  labor 
has  been  perfected,  by  inserting  the  finger  up  the  vagina  ; 
and  they  who  base  their  opinions  upon  an  "  examination" 
of  that  description  will  often  be  deceived.  External 
manipulation  will  best  lead  us  to  the  knowledge  we 
desire  to  gain  ;  and  when  the  hand  is  properly  directed, 
an  approach  to  certainty  can  be  obtained.  The  pup  to 
be  felt  through  the  walls  of  the  abdomen  is  an  uneven 


390  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

body  ;  the  inequalities  caused  by  the  limbs  being  detected. 
After  parturition  there  is  generally  one  thing  that  may 
be  mistaken,  which  is  the  contraction  of  the  body  of  the 
uterus.  The  first  pup  born  occupied  that  situation,  and 
on  its  expulsion  the  part  of  the  womb  it  filled  narrows, 
becoming  thick  and  somewhat  hard.  Under  the  fingers, 
it  conveys  the  idea  of  a  solid  substance,  and  it  may  be 
imagined  to  be  another  foetus.  It  is  too  frequently  seized 
when  the  forceps  are  ignorantly  and  violently  employed. 
The  womb  has  been  repeatedly  forcibly  draggi  d  forth, 
and  its  integrity  destroyed.  A  mistake  of  this  kind  is 
fatal.  The  rupture  of  the  uterus  is  followed  by  sickness 
and  a  cessation  of  the  throes;  while  the  hemorrhage 
from  the  laceration  induces  inflammation  that  destroys 
the  life ;  therefore,  when  forcible  means  are  determined 
upon,  extreme  care  is  required,  and  forceps,  as  a  general 
rule,  had  better  be  dispensed  with.  As  regards  other 
means — such  as  the  tube  and  wire,  the  crotchet,  the  sup- 
ports to  the  abdomen,  and  the  employment  of  stimu- 
lants— these  must  be  regulated  by  the  circumstances  of 
the  case. 

The  appearance  of  the  bitch  will  generally  denote 
when  the  births  are  completed.  She,  after  the  last  of 
the  litter  has  been  born,  seems  to  be  much  rejoiced,  and 
by  her  manner  indicates  she  has  no  more  business  at  pre- 
sent to  transact.  She  curls  herself  round,  draws  her 
puppies  close  to  her,  makes  the  bed  comfortable,  sees 
that  all  her  family  are  in  order,  and  then  composes 
herself  for  a  comfortable  sleep.  The  meaning  of  her 


DOGS*.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  391 

actions  is  at  this  time  so  conspicuous,  that  I  have  re- 
peatedly lingered  to  watch  them  ;  and  he  who  has  never 
witnessed  her  conduct  on  such  occasions,  might  be  enter- 
tained by  observing  it. 

The  animal  subsequently  requires  little  attention, 
beyond  a  change  of  bed  and  a  fair  supply  of  nutritive 
food.  She  does  best  when  least  noticed ;  but  it  is  well 
to  see  that  she  takes  a  sufficiency  of  exercise.  On  the 
following  day  she  should  be  taken  out ;  and  on  every 
day  after  that  she  ought  to  be  about  pretty  much  as 
before.  Some  bitches,  however,  are  such  devoted  mo- 
thers as  to  sacrifice  health,  and  occasionally  life  itself,  to 
enjoy  the  pleasure  of  being  with  their  young  ones.  This 
excess  of  affection  must  be  controlled  ;  for  if  not  checked 
it  will  seriously  injure  both  parent  and  offspring.  All 
animals,  however,  are  not  thus  distinguished.  Some 
bitches  cannot  be  induced  to  suckle  the  pups  they  have 
given  birth  to  ;  and  others,  though  less  frequent,  will 
eat  their  progeny.  The  disposition  to  desert  or  destroy 
their  young  seems  to  prevail  among  the  parentage  of 
this  world.  In  the  female  of  the  dog  the  maternal  in- 
stinct is  most  powerful  ;  but  under  certain  conditions 
of  the-  animal's  body,  the  natural  impulse  seems  to  be 
perverted,  and  she  takes  the  life  she  would  else  have 
perished  to  preserve. 

It  is  painful,  knowing  this,  to  reflect  that  on  his  own 
species  man  inflicts  the  highest  punishment,  for  an  act 
that  possibly  may  be,  in  the  human  being  as  in  brutes, 
the  consequence  of  a  mental  excitement  accompanying 


392  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

the  period  of  parturition.  Women,  when  not  in  dis- 
tress and  otherwise  afflicted,  rarely  indeed  are  guilty 
of  infanticide ;  and  I  have  observed  annoyance  or  ill 
health  proceed  or  accompany  the  like  act  in  animals. 
If  the  rabbit  be  looked  at,  her  alarm  seems  to  change 
her  nature;  and  the  bitch  that  devours  her  pups  will, 
upon  inquiry,  be  generally  found  to  have  suffered  some 
species  of  persecution.  That  the  brain,  is  affected  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  The  unnatural  propensity  is  of  itself 
a  proof  ;  but  the  strange  appearance,  and  the  altered 
looks  of  the  creature,  sufficiently  denote  her  state.  She 
is  not  then  savage  ;  her  ferocity  has  been  gratified  ; 
and  she  seems  rather  to  be  afflicted  with  a  remem- 
brance of  the  act  she  was  unable  to  resist.  She  is  the 
picture  of  shame;  she  slinks  away  at  our  approach,  and 
her  eye  no  longer  confidently  seeks  that  of  her  mas- 
ter ;  her  aspect  is  dejected,  but  I  think  more  with  sor- 
row than  with  crime. 

I  would  not  plead  for  sin ;  but  what  I  have  beheld  in 
dogs  inclines  me  to  think  the  majority  of  those  who  have 
been  hung  for  infanticide  were  legally  murdered.  There 
is  danger  in  admitting  such  an  opinion ;  but  seeing  all 
animals  at  certain  periods  exhibit  a  particular  propensity, 
it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  morbid  feeling,  as  exem- 
plified in  the  human  race,  is  really  one  that  calls  for  mor- 
tal punishment. 

When  a  bitch  has  devoured  her  young,  let  an  emetic 
be  administered ;  and  should  the  bowels  be  costive,  an 
aperient  be  exhibited.  A  little  fever  medicine  may  fol- 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  393 

low ;  but  if  its  effects  are  not  immediately  witnessed, 
tonics,  without  loss  of  time,  sliould  be  resorted  t;o.  The 
food  must  be  mild ;  and  everything  should  be  done  to 
guard  against  excitement.  The  system  requires  to  be 
soothed  ;  for  the  act  is  always  attended  with  general 
disturbance ;  and  attention  must  be  paid  to  prevent  the 
milk  from  accumulating  in  the  glands. 

Some  persons  entertain  a  notion  that  the  bitch  which 
has  once  devoured  her  litter,  will  ever  after  retain  the 
disposition.  This  is  a  false  idea.  On  the  next  occa- 
sion, if  properly  treated — that  is,  if  not  persecuted,  chas- 
tised, alarmed,  and  annoyed,  but  properly  dieted — she 
may  prove,  and  most  likely  will  prove,  an  excellent  mo- 
ther ;  the  very  excitability  which,  when  over-stimulated, 
induced  her  unnatural  impulse,  making  her,  when  tran- 
quil, the  more  alive  to  the  instincts  of  her  nature.  I 
once  saw  this  in  a  very  remarkable  manner  illustrated 
by  a  rabbit.  The  doe  was  sold  to  me  very  cheap,  and 
was  in  litter  at  the  time  of  purchase.  A  week  after 
she  came  into  my  possession,  she  plucked  her  fur  and 
made  her  bed.  One  morning  I  distinctly  saw  a  nest 
full  of  young ;  but  looking  again  at  noon,  not  a  single 
one  of  the  progeny  was  to  be  beheld.  Some  little  blood 
and  a  mangled  leg  told  their  history  ;  and  the  animal 
a  fortnight  afterwards  was  again  put  to  the  buck. 

I  by  chance  discovered,  while  the  doe  was  breeding, 

that  she  had  an  inordinate  thirst.     At  first  it  amused  me 

to  see  the  creature  lap  the  water  I  presented  to  her  ;  but 

at  last  I  placed  within  her  hutch  a  cup,  and  had  it  kept 

17* 


394  DOGS:    THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

constantly  filled.  Her  desire  for  liquid  was  not  speedily- 
quenched  ;  and  it  became  to  me  a  source  of  some  pain 
when  I  reflected  how  much  agony  the  craving  must  have 
caused  prior  to  my  being  conscious  of  its  existence.  The 
next  litter  was  not  eaten  by  the  mother.  She  brought 
them  up,  and  they  likewise  did  well,  drinking  as  much 
as  they  pleaseed.  The  disposition  of  the  doe  appeared 
to  undergo  a  change.  From  having  been  savage,  that 
is,  from  always  endeavoring  to  bite  and  scratch  the  hand 
that  cleaned  her  residence,  or  even  supplied  her  table, 
she  became  gentle  and  familiar,  allowing  her  person  to 
be  caressed,  and  letting  her  progeny  be  looked  at.  She 
was  at  last  as  good  as  she  was  beautiful ;  and  I  parted 
with  her  for  a  sum  exactly  four  times  that  which  she  had 
cost  me. 

After  a  bitch  has  pupped,  there  always  is  from  the 
vagina  a  discharge,  which  rarely  ceases  before  a  week 
expires,  and  sometimes  flows  forth  for  a  longer  period. 
Some  gentlemen  of  the  "  fancy,"  as  the  dog  breeders 
term  themselves,  boast  they  know  how  to  check  it ;  and 
to  what  extent  their  knowledge  may  reach  I  cannot  pre- 
tend to  say.  I  have  been  requested  to  perform  such  an 
ofEce,  but  hitherto  I  have  not  attempted  to  fulfil  it ;  and 
I  should  be  very  sorry  to  do  so,  even  if  I  were  certain 
there  existed  the  means  to  arrest  the  exudation.  It  is 
natural ;  if  the  animal  be  left  alone,  she  will  be  sure  to 
perform  the  offices  of  cleanliness,  and  to  do  everything 
her  state  requires. 

For  the  first  week  the  bitch  is  very  attentive  to  her 


DOGS  *.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  395 

family  ;  and  as  it  gives  her  pain  when  one  is  taken  up,  it 
is  better  not  to  handle  the  pups  more  than  is  absolutely 
necessary.  She  should  be  well  fed ;  not  crammed,  but 
nourished  ;  and  she  will  require  more  food  than  formerly, 
for  there  are  many  mouths  to  feed  through  hers.  The 
quantity  of  support  she  needs  may  be  conjectured  from 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  pups. 

A  small  bitch  of  my  own  had  a  litter  of  four.  The 
mother  weighed  seven  pounds  six  ounces ;  and  between 
the  second  and  fourth  weeks  the  young  ones  daily  added 
one  ounce  and  a  half  each  to  their  bulk.  It  would  require 
some  amount  of  milk  to  supply  such  a  quantity  of  flesh  ; 
and  we  have  also  to  remember  that,  during  the  rapid 
growth,  the  process  of  consolidation  is  simultaneously 
going  forward.  Good  nourishing  food,  sufficient  in  bulk, 
is  absolutely  imperative  ;  for  if  the  pups  be  stinted,  the 
dogs  will  assuredly  be  weak. 

A  strong  bitch  may  be  able  to  bring  up  as  many  young 
as  she  can  produce  at  a  litter ;  but  the  animals  of  the 
smaller  or  more  choice  breeds  are  seldom  possessed  of 
such  capabilities.  The  very  diminutive  will  not  general- 
ly rear  two  pups  without  suffering  ;  and  four  are  a  very 
heavy  drag  upon  the  majority  of  the  animals  kept  as 
pets,  even  though  they  be  in  no  way  remarkable  on  ac- 
count of  size.  Three,  perhaps,  is  the  average  number 
the  larger  favorites  can  nurture. 

When,  through  a  desire  to  get  as  many  specimens  of  a 
particular  breed  as  possible,  a  delicate  bitch  is  allowed  to 
suckle  all  the  members  of  a  heavy  litter,  fits  are  the  too 


396  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

probable  consequence.  The  animal  becomes  so  much 
weakened  by  the  continual  drain  upon  her,  that  the 
whole  system  is  debilitated,  and  the  brain  shares  the 
general  disorder.  Previous  to  this  being  perceptible,  the 
animal  may  be  observed  to  pant  violently  when  her 
young  are  sucking ;  and  instead  of  cuddling  to  them  in  a 
manner  expressive  of  her  delight,  she  stretches  herself 
out,  and  frequently  exhibits  uneasiness  by  shifting  her 
position.  At  length  she  breaks  away  from  her  offspring, 
which  appear  to  be  dissatisfied  with  her  departure.  She 
does  not  continue  quiet  after  her  escape,  but  seeks  ease 
in  vain,  has  a  vacant  expression  of  countenance.  Affec- 
tion, however,  impels  her  to  return ;  and  the  same  scene 
is  exhibited,  the  pups  seizing  upon  her,  and  having  no 
regard  for  her  exhaustion.  The  little  things  are  hungry, 
for  the  source  of  their  nourishment  is  failing;  and  thus 
the  demand  is  the  greater,  just  as  the  supply  becomes 
the  less. 

At  length  the  poor  bitch  pants,  staggers,  falls,  and 
writhes  in  convulsions,  which  on  an  average  continue 
about  five  minutes.  The  struggle  subsides,  to  leave  the 
animal  in  a  sad  state  of  weakness.  The  pulse  then  is 
quick  and  feeble  ;  the  pupil  of  the  eye  is  dilated  ;  and 
if  the  teats  be  tried,  the  milk  they  ought  to  contain  will 
be  found  absent. 

For  the  fit  itself  little  need  be  done.  While  they  are 
violent,  an  injection  of  ether  and  laudanum  may  be 
thrown  up  ;  and  when  the  consciousness  is  in  some  de- 
gree recovered,  a  dose  of  the  same,  with  from  a  quarter 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  397 

of  an  ounce  to  an  ounce  of  sherry  may  be  administered. 
Afterwards  a  few  tonics  may  be  given  ;  but  the  mother 
must  never  be  permitted  to  visit  her  young  ones  as  be- 
fore. Either  a  foster-parent  must  be  found  (and  a  cat 
will  rear  a  small  pup  very  tenderly),  or  the  litter  must  in 
part  be  brought  up  by  hand. 

This  last  is  more  troublesome  than  difficult  to  do. 
The  pups  want  to  be  fed  early  and  late ;  consequently, 
they  must  be  taken  into  the  bed-room  ;  and  when  the 
feeding  time  arrives,  the  soundest  sleeper  will  be 
reminded  of  his  duty.  A  bottle,  such  as  is  used  for 
infants  of  the  human  kind,  must  have  a  sort  of  nipple 
made  of  wash-leather  fitted  to  it.  The  leather  is  to  be 
pricked  all  over  with  a  fine  needle,  and  within  it  is  to  be 
placed  a  small  piece  of  sponge  to  give  substance  and 
form  to  it.  There  is  need  to  do  that,  because  the  pup 
when  it  sucks  wraps  the  tongue  round  the  teat ;  and 
unless  the  body  it  thus  grasps  has  bulk,  it  cannot  extract 
the  liquid.  This,  therefore,  being  attended  to,  the  little 
creatures  very  soon  learn  their  lesson,  and  all  that  is 
subsequently  to  be  done  will  be  to  hold  them  to  the  bottle, 
and  the  bottle  to  them.  Each  .pup  occupies  from  ten  to 
fifteen  minutes  at  a  meal ;  and  they  may  be  allowed  to 
decide  the  quantity  that  will  do  them  good,  unless  one 
should  obviously  be  morbidly  gluttonous,  when  the  in- 
dulgence of  its  appetite  should  be  restrained. 

During  the  night  the  bitch  must  be  kept  away  from 
her  hungry  tormentors  ;  but  in  the  day-time  she  may  be 
allowed  to  go  to  them  every  time  after  they  have  been 


398  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

fed;  and  she  may  remain  to  enjoy  their  society  for  half- 
an-hour  on  each  occasion.  The  small  gluttons,  though 
full  of  cow's  juice,  will  nevertheless  find  appetite  for 
such  a  luxury  as  mother's  milk ;  but  their  energies  being 
blunted,  they  will  have  power  to  do  no  more  than  to  pre- 
vent an  accumulation  within  the  glands.  The  little, 
however,  which  they  can  swallow  seems  to  do  them 
much  good  ;  for  after  this  manner  I  have  brought  up 
many  pups,  though,  when  I  have  attempted  to  rear  them 
wholly  upon  cow's  milk,  success  has  not  always  rewarded 
my  care. 

There  is  only  one  circumstance  needed  to  be  pointed 
out  when  pups  are  brought  up  by  hand.  The  sponge 
and  leather  of  the  false  nipple  is  apt  to  become  sour  ; 
and  therefore,  after  they  have  been  used,  they  should  be 
kept  in  water  rendered  slightly  alkaline  with  the  carbo- 
nate of  soda. 

At  three  weeks  old,  puppies  may  be  brought  to  lap  a 
little  ;  and  they  not  only  learn  quickly  where  their  bel- 
lies are  concerned,  but  they  never,  like  other  children, 
forget  what  they  once  acquire.  After  a  month  a  little 
scraped  meat  or  boiled  rice  may  be  added  to  their  diet ; 
and  by  five  weeks  old  they  will  feed  themselves.  There- 
fore, if  the  trouble  be  great  it  does  not  last  long ;  and  to 
those  who  can  make  an  amusement  of  the  business,  the 
pleasure  repays  the  labor.  I  do  not  know  whether  feed- 
ing pups  is  quite  as  agreeable  a  pastime  as  killing  birds  ; 
but  I  am  sure  it  is  far  less  dangerous  to  him  who  follows 
it ;  though  the  difference  of  name  given  to  such  recrea- 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  399 

tions  may,  to  weak  eyes,  invest  them  with  very  opposite 
attractions. 

At  this  place  it  is  not  intended  to  enter  at  length  into 
the  plan  to  be  pursued  in  rearing  the  pups  ;  but  the 
method  in  which  they  ought  to  be  weaned  must  be 
pointed  out.  Some  persons  remove  the  entire  litter  at  a 
stated  period  ;  various  dates  being  fixed  by  different  in- 
dividuals when  the  young  ones  can  do  for  themselves. 
A  pup  can  survive  if  taken  from  the  mother  at  the  expi- 
ration of  the  third  week  ;  but  it  must  be  a  strong  animal, 
or  it  will  feel  such  an  early  separation  from  the  source 
of  its  natural  nourishment. 

The  stronger  the  pup,  the  more  attached  is  the  bitch 
to  it ;  and  I  have  known  these  animals  to  pine  and  ne- 
glect the  rest,  when  the  favorite  has  been  taken  from 
her.  If,  however,  the  healthy  are  beloved,  the  weakly, 
in  almost  a  stronger  degree,  are  the  objects  of  dislike. 
In  many  breeds  where  the  value  is  regulated  by  the 
lightness  of  the  weight,  the  one  most  prized  by  the 
owner  is  the  one  that  too  frequently  dies.  The  causes 
of  this  disappointment  are  many.  Pups  have  neither 
politeness  nor  generosity.  They  scramble  at  their  meals ; 
and  the  one  that  is  not  able  to  contest  for  his  share  is 
certain  to  get  the  least.  Thus  the  debilitated  hope  of 
particular  litters  comes  but  badly  off.  It  is  pushed  aside 
by  its  brothers  and  sisters,  whose  vigorous  greediness 
appears  to  endear  them  to  their  mother.  For  the  boister- 
ous gluttons  she  will  accommodate  her  position,  and 
fondly  lick  them  in  return  for  their  energetic  appetites  ; 


400  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

but  to  the  poor  sickly  thing  she  has  given  life  to,  she 
lends  no  assistance,  and  bestows  no  attention  upon.  She 
seems  to  be  ashamed  of,  and  disgusted  with,  its  degene- 
racy j  and  while  the  others  grow  fat  and  sleek  from  posi- 
tive repletion,  it  becomes  thin  and  dirty  from  actual 
starvation.  Where,  therefore,  it  is  desirable  to  rear  the 
smallest  of  the  litter,  the  proprietor  must  take  care  to  see 
it  properly  fed.  The  bitch  may  need  to  be  held,  in 
order  that  the  little  one  may  suck  her ;  and  often  have  I 
placed  her  under  such  restraint. 

In  order  that  the  small  one  may  be  nurtured,  some 
persons  have  taken  away  from  the  mother  the  rest  of  the 
family  ;  but  this  practice,  though  successful  with  regard 
to  the  life,  generally  disappoints  with  respect  to  the 
diminutiveness,  which  made  the  existence  precious. 
Upon  the  abundance  which  such  single  blessedness  se- 
cures, the  growth  is  generally  rapid ;  and  it  is  not  very 
long  before  Nature  makes  up  for  her  previous  stint.  The 
better  method  is,  to  let  the  companions  continue  ;  care 
being  exercised  only  to  see  that  at  meal-times  all  share 
alike. 

The  bitch,  also,  requires  our  attention  to  observe  that 
all  the  glands  are  properly  emptied.  Puppies,  like  chil- 
dren, are  apt  to  be  fanciful  where  plenty  prevails  ;  and  it 
is  no  very  rare  occurrence  for  a  litter  to  combine  in  refus- 
•  ing  to  draw  the  most  forward  of  the  teats.  These  are 
situated  under  the  sternum  or  breast-bone ;  and  repeat- 
edly have  animals  with  young  ones  recently  born  been 
brought  to  me,  because  their  owners  perceived  symp- 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  401 

toms  which  could  not  be  interpreted.  The  animal  is 
restless ;  the  nose  is  dry  ;  the  tongue  hot ;  the  appetite 
is  either  lost,  feeble,  or  capricious ;  and  the  dog  is  disin- 
clined to  move,  often  crying  out  when  obliged  to  walk. 

If  the  teats  are  examined,  all  those  posteriorly  situated 
will  be  found  fairly  drawn.  On  these  the  pups  can  take 
a  firm  hold  ;  and  as  they  are  the  most  capacious,  no 
doubt  they  present  temptations  against  which  the  lesser 
glands  anteriorly  placed  cannot  compete.  The  smaller 
are  therefore  rejected  ;  and  will  be  found  to  be  distended 
with  their  secretion.  If  this  is  removed,  and,  as  neces- 
sity arises,  afterwards  withdrawn,  no  more  need  be  done, 
but  the  symptoms  will  subside. 

To  milk  the  bitch  requires  only  a  little  patience.  The 
gland  should  be  taken  between  the  finger  and  thumb, 
when  any  degree  of  pressure,  not  designed  to  create  pain, 
may  be  made,  and  the  fluid  squeezed  out.  The  animal 
submits  with  pleasure  to  have  this  operation  performed, 
and  seldom  moves  before  it  is  perfectly  accomplished. 
Where  any  appearance  of  hardness  is  detected,  the  place 
should  be  kneaded  between  the  finger  and  thumb ;  for 
pains  should  be  taken  to  remove  the  coagulated  milk, 
which  is  generally  the  cause  of  the  induration.  Frequent 
and  thorough  milking  will  do  more  good  in  these  cases 
than  any  of  the  active  remedies  sold  by  chemists  and 
dog-fanciers,  for  the  purpose  of  immediately  curing  them. 

To  dry  up  the  milk  of  a  bitch  is  a  duty  we  are  often 
called  upon  to  perform ;  but  it  is  one  I  invariably  decline 
to  accept.  The  animal  will  always  soon  cease  to  yield 


402  DOGS  :     THEItt    MANAGEMENT. 

its  secretion  if  it  be  let  alone ;  for  if  dog's  milk  were 
valuable,  we  should  in  vain  use  our  utmost  art  to  prolong 
its  continuance.  When  the  pups  are  removed,  Nature 
takes  away  that  which  is  no  longer  required ;  but  if  the 
litter  be  suddenly  separated  from  the  mother,  or  all  the 
young  should  be  born  dead,  Nature  may  not  immediately 
accommodate  herself  to  the  circumstances.  In  such 
cases,  the  milk  should  be  withdrawn  three  times  daily  ; 
a  dose  of  opening  medicine  should  be  administered,  and 
the  food  should  be  spare.  A  few  days'  attention  will  be 
required  ;  but  the  matter,  if  neglected,  causes  much  suf- 
fering, and  very  frequently  lays  the  foundation  for  future 
evil. 

Falling  of  the  vagina,  or  membrane  lining  the  passage 
to  the  womb,  is  sometimes  witnessed  in  animals  that  are 
much  confined,  and  consequently  of  a  debilitated  habit. 
Creatures  so  savage  as  to  be  dangerous,  and  which,  there- 
fore, cannot  be  properly  exercised,  are  most  subject  to  it ; 
and  I  have  in  the  greater  number  of  instances  met  with 
it  in  high-bred  bull-bitches  of  that  disposition. 

The  reason  of  this  is,  the  bull-dog  ranks  as  an  entirely 
artificial  creation.  In  proof  of  this  stands  the  well-known 
fact,  that  unless  the  breed  be  sedulously  kept  up,  it  is 
apt  to  degenerate,  or  to  become  extinct.  Old  breeders 
even  now  say,  the  ancient  kind  of  English  bull-dog  is 
nowhere  to  be  found.  But  take  another  proof.  We  want 
no  anatomical  knowledge  or  prejudice  :  in  him  formation 
is  to  be  judged.  Let  the  reader  look  at  the  head  of  the 
animal  depicted  on  page  404.  Is  not  the  cranium  a 


DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  403 

malformation  ]  Do  not  the  habits  of  the  animal  prove  it 
to  be  a  pampered  creation  ?  It  is  not  generally  known, 
that  the  disposition  of  the  genuine  bull-dog  is  too  fond. 
It  will  fondle  upon  any  stranger  ;  and  yet,  contrary  to 
the  general  custom  of  its  race,  it  displays  small  prefer- 
ence for  its  master.  It  will  fondle  a  human  being  as 
though  its  heart  would  burst  with  affection ;  but  upon  the 
slightest  excitement — often  upon  a  sudden  sound — it  will 
fly  at  and  mangle  the  hand  that  was  caressing  it.  Then 
the  hold  taken  by  this  animal  is  more  retentive  than  is 
strictly  natural.  It  will  fix  upon  an  object,  and  frequent- 
ly suffer  itself  to  be  dismembered  before  it  will  let  go  its 
hold,  although  its  master's  voice  be  energetically  raised 
to  command  it.  Do  not  these  traits  bespeak  the  being 
formed  rather  by  man's  malice,  than  created  by  Nature's 
goodness  ?  Look  at  the  likeness  of  the  beast,  and  say 
how  far  it  resembles  the  mild,  graceful,  and  generous 
race  to  which  it  outwardly  belongs. 

It  is  the  high,  or  rather  perverted,  state  in  which  the 
breed  is  kept,  that  subjects  them  to  accidents  ;  it  is  the 
pampered  condition  jn  which  these  antipodes  to  beauty 
are  reared  that  renders  them  so  liable  to  afflictions  that 
do  not  affect  the  ordinary  run  of  their  kind — such  as  fall- 
ing of  the  vagina.  It  comes  on  generally  when  heat  is 
present,  and  mostly  disappears  when  the  excitement  sub- 
sides. A  red  bag  is  seen  to  be  pendulous  from  the  orifice 
of  the  part ;  and  if  no  care  be  taken  to  prevent  it,  this 
by  exposure  gets  injured  ;  becomes  hard  ;  bleeds  freely, 
and  is  difficult  to  return.  It  often  presents  a  pitiable 


404  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

aspect ;  but  however  painful  it  may  be  to  look  at,  there 
seems  to  be  but  little  suffering  attending  it.  The  animal 
permits  it  to  be  freely  handled,  and  does  not  resist  even 
when  sharp  dressings  are  applied. 

In  such  cases  cleanliness  is  to  be  strictly  observed.  If 
the  protruded  membrane  should  be  thickened  and  exco- 
riated, it  must  be  well  washed  with  a  sponge  and  warm 


THE  BULL-DOG. 


water.  Afterwards  it  may  be  bathed  with  a  lotion,  (made 
of  nitric  acid  one  drachm,  to  proof-spirit  one  ounce,)  and 
then  returned.  A  cold  injection,  composed  of  alum  one 
drachm,  dissolved  in  spring  water  one  pint,  may  be  used 
thrice  daily ;  and  from  a  quarter  of  a  grain  to  a  grain  of 
powdered  gallic  acid  may  be  given  three  times  a-day. 

The  inversion  of  the  womb  is  more  serious ;  but  it  is 
generally  more  speedily  restored.  In  the  larger  animals, 
that  produce  one  or  two  young  at  a  time,  the  uterus  is 
commonly  inverted  subsequent  to  parturition  ;  but  in  the 
dog  I  have  known  it  only  when  the  womb  had  for  some 


DOGS  '.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  405 

period  been  unimpregnated.  Blows  may  cause  it ;  so  also 
may  excessive  weakness ;  and  the  earlier  it  is  attended 
to,  the  more  readily  will  it  be  restored.  The  treatment 
is  described  in  the  following  narrative,  which  was  pub- 
lished by  me  in  the  Veterinarian. 

"  I  began  by  having  a  soft  clean  cloth  spread  upon  a 
table,  and,  placing  the  dog  on  this,  with  a  sponge  the 
uterus  was  gently  moistened.  No  friction  was  employed, 
but  with  tepid  water  the  part  was  carefully  sopped.  This 
process  was  not  quick.  An  hour  and  a  half  expired  be- 
fore all  the  extraneous  matter  was  by  it  removed.  This 
accomplished,  with  a  pair  of  scissors  the  fibrinous  tumors 
were  snipped  off.  The  hemorrhage  was  trivial ;  but 
there  yet  remained  marks  of  bruises  and  signs  of  lacera- 
tion which  could  not  be  cut  away.  To  these  a  spirituous 
solution  of  nitric  acid — a  drachm  to  the  ounce — was 
applied,  and  the  entire  of  the  exposed  surface  dressed 
with  it. 

"  Knowing  the  peculiar  form  of  tile  passage,  I  was 
able  to  return  the  womb,  and  met  with  little  obstruction. 
Up  to  this  point  I  had  succeeded  better  than  at  first  I 
hoped ;  but  here  came  the  difficulty.  The  uterus  was 
replaced,  but  how  was  it  to  be  retained  ?  The  irritability 
of  the  system  would  have  a  natural  tendency  to  reject 
the  viscus,  and  the  lotion  I  had  used  was  not  of  a  sooth- 
ing quality.  To  render  the  case  more  desperate,  there 
was  the  knowledge  of  the  temperament  and  habits  of  the 
animal — its  manner  of  sitting — its  mode  of  curving  the 
spine  to  void  its  faeces — the  marked  excitability  of  its 
generative  organs — and  its  peculiar  sensitiveness  to  suf- 
fering. 

"  To  own  the  truth,  I  had  done  so  much  more  than, 


406  DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

seeing  the  hardened  and  lacerated  condition  of  the  parts, 
I  had  in  the  first  instance  anticipated  was  possible,  that  I 
was  not  exactly  prepared  for  my  good  fortune.  I 
remained  for  some  time  thinking — and,  really  puzzled, 
requested  those  present  not  to  speak.  I  wanted  some 
combination  of  medicine  which  I  could  not  satisfactorily 
procure.  A  sedative  to  the  general  system  was  required, 
but  not  one  that  should  depress  ;  as,  after  operations  of 
this  description,  the  vital  powers  are  disposed  to  sink, 
and  therefore  generally  require  to  be  stimulated.  I 
moreover  wanted  an  excitant  to  the  uterus.  Many 
things  were  hastily  thought  of,  and  as  quickly  rejected  ; 
and,  in  my  difficulty,  I  was  at  last  obliged  to  ask  advice 
of  those  about  me.  A  bandage  or  harness  to  pass  over 
the  parts  was  suggested ;  but  the  almost  impossibility  of 
fixing  it  properly,  and  the  mischievous  ingenuity  the  dog 
exhibits  with  its  teeth,  rendered  this  plan  obviously  inap- 
propriate. One  person  proposed  to  adopt  the  custom — 
sometimes,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  followed  by  cow-leeches — 
of  passing  stitches  through  the  labia.  The  brutal  and 
unjustifiable  practice  was  of  course  rejected,  and,  I  trust, 
by  the  members  of  the  veterinary  profession,  it  is  never 
embraced. 

"  Fairly  at  my  wits'  end,  I  suddenly  determined  to 
try  how  the  injection  of  cold  water  into  the  uterus  would 
act.  I  knew  of  no  case  in  which  this  agent  had  been 
employed,  and  could  not  feel  confidence  concerning  the 
consequences  of  the  experiment ;  but,  in  despair,  I  re- 
solved to  hazard  it.  A  quantity  fresh  from  the  pump 
was  therefore  obtained,  and  it  was  thrown  up,  being 
allowed  to  flow  back.  A  stream  of  cold  water  was  thus 
made  to  pass  over  the  interior  of  the  uterus,  and  about 
two  quarts  had  been  used  before  the  animal  appeared  to 
be  at  all  affected,  excepting  that  the  injection  seemed  to 


DOGS  .*     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  407 

induce  a  sensation  of  discomfort.  At  last  a  feeble  moan 
was  uttered,  which,  when  another  pint  or  thereabouts 
had  been  injected,  burst  into  something  approaching  to  a 
cry.  I  then  desisted.  The  tube  was  withdrawn,  and, 
hoping  that  the  symptom  of  pain  resulted  from  the  con- 
traction of  the  organic  fibre  under  the  stimulating  effects 
of  the  cold,  the  animal  was  ordered  to  be  placed  where 
nothing  could  disturb  it. 

"  Having  passed  an  hour  in  the  company  of  my  friend, 
when  about  to  leave  I  requested  to  see  the  dog  once 
more.  The  animal  had  been  put  into  a  hayloft,  and  I 
was  pleasantly  surprised  to  hear  it  give  tongue  on  our 
approach  :  it  came  to  meet  us,  and  the  change  was  such 
as  I  could  not  have  anticipated.  The  parts  had  regained 
almost  their  natural  appearance  ;  certainly  they  pre- 
sented nothing  to  indicate  the  aspect  they  had  exhibited 
only  a  few  hours  before. 

"  A  mild  aperient  was  given.  The  animal  had  no 
other  medicine,  neither  was  any  local  application  used. 
For  three  days  a  slight  discharge  of  a  blackish  color  en- 
sued ;  but  when  this  stopped,  the  animal  was  returned  to 
its  owner  cured." 


Hardened  swellings,  or  indurated  tumors  in  the  teats, 
are  very  common  in  the  bitch.  They  are  caused  by  the 
milk  being  allowed  to  accumulate  in  the  glands,  and 
there  to  curdle  or  act  as  a  foreign  body  on  the  parts  im- 
mediately around  it.  The  bitch  will  secrete  milk, 
although  she  has  had  no  pups ;  and  a  virgin  bitch  will  do 
so  quite  as  actively  as  one  that  has  been  a  mother.  When 
heat  has  subsided,  although  no  intercourse  has  been  per- 
mitted at  the  period,  when  the  birth  would  have  taken 


408  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

place  the  glands  will  swell ;  and  on  squeezing  them,  a 
full  stream  of  thick  milk  will  flow  forth.  Nine  weeks, 
therefore,  after  oestrum,  whether  the  desire  has  been  gra- 
tified or  denied,  the  teats  should  be  examined  and  re- 
lieved. If  this  should  not  be  done,  small  lumps  will 
appear.  These  are  round,  not  sensitive  ;  but  generally 
roll  under  the  fingers,  and  appear  at  first  to  be  perfectly 
detached,  though  more  or  less  deep  seated.  No  time 
should  be  lost  in  removing  them  ;  for  if  allowed  to  re- 
main they  rapidly  increase,  and  often  become  of  an 
enormous  size.  Others  also  appear  until  the  whole  of 
the  glands  are  involved ;  and  the  extent  of  the  implica- 
tion renders  an  operation,  which  in  the  first  instance 
would  have  been  both  simple  and  safe,  so  complicated 
and  hazardous  as  not  to  be  risked.  The  tumors,  more- 
over, as  they  enlarge  by  their  weight  and  size,  become 
exposed  to  numerous  accidents  ;  either  they  are  excori- 
ated by  the  movements  of  the  legs,  hurt  by  blows,  or 
lacerated  by  being  dragged  along  the  ground.  Any- 
thing that  interferes  with  their  integrity  seems  to  change 
their- character.  From  having  been  dormant  they  start 
into  activity,  and  the  slightest  wound  degenerates  into  a 
wide-spreading  ulcer.  When  this  last  appearance  is 
established,  no  treatment  I  know  of  can  effect  a  cure. 
If  there  be  a  hope,  it  lies  solely  in  the  skilful  use  of  the 
knife ;  but  generally  the  constitution  is  so  much  ex- 
hausted, and  the  disease  so  firmly  established,  that  sur- 
gery is  but  a  desperate  resort. 

When  taken  in  time,  the  situation  of  the  tumor  being 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  409 

ascertained,  the  skin  is  divided  and  the  growth  dissected 
out.  This  is  easily  done,  and  it  is  seldom  that  a  vessel 
requiring  ligature  is  divided.  The  care  required  is  to 
spare  the  skin,  no  portion  of  which,  unless  it  should  be 
implicated,  ought  to  be  excised.  Neither  plaster  nor 
suture  will  afterwards  be  wanted.  The  bitch  would 
with  her  teeth  remove  either ;  and  as  the  healing 
process  is  established,  the  integument  will  contract  and 
unite. 

When  there  is  more  than  a  single  tumor  to  take  away, 
or  one  of  large  dimensions  to  remove,  though  there  may 
be  no  important  vessels  to  ligature,  the  oozing  of  blood 
is  sometimes  greater  than  may  with  safety  be  disre- 
garded. In  such  cases,  the  application  of  cold  water,  or 
of  oil  of  turpentine,  or  the  tincture  of  ergot  of  rye,  or 
blowing  upon  the  part  by  means  of  a  pair  of  bellows, 
will  be  of  service,  and  may  each  be  tried;  but  the 
actual  cautery,  though  held  in  high  esteem  by  veterina- 
rians, is  not  suited  to  these  instances. 

After  the  tumor  or  tumors  are  cleanly  removed,  a 
course  of  iodine  should  be  enforced ;  and  it  should  be 
persevered  with  for  several  months,  nor  given  up  simply 
because  all  present  symptoms  have  disappeared.  The 
tendency  has  been  exhibited,  and  the  medicine  is  now 
employed  to  prevent  its  development  for  the  future  ;  and, 
by  the  continued  use  of  the  agent,  we  hope  to  accom- 
plish that  intention. 


18 


410  DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 


SKIN   DISEASES. 

EVERY  affection  of  the  skin  in  the  dog  is  termed 
raange.  This  is  very  wrong ;  and  receipts  for  the  cure 
of  mange  are  all  nonsense,  unless  we  can  imagine  that 
one  physic  is  good  for  various  disorders.  The  dog  is 
very  subject  to  mange  ;  that  is,  the  animal's  system  can 
hardly  suffer  without  the  derangement  flying  to  and  de- 
veloping itself  externally,  or  upon  the  skin.  True 
mange  is  chiefly  caught,  being  mainly  dependent  upon 
contagion ;  but  all  the  other  varieties  have  the  seats  in- 
ternally, and  are  chiefly  owing  to  the  keep  or  lodging. 
Too  close  a  kennel  will  give  rise  to  mange,  as  will  too 
spare  or  too  full  a  diet ;  too  much  flesh  or  unwholesome 
food ;  too  hard  or  too  luxurious  a  bed.  In  fact,  there  is 
hardly  a  circumstance  to  which  the  animal  is  exposed 
which  will  not  cause  this  malady  to  be  developed.  Pecu- 
liar kinds  of  bedding,  as  barley  straw,  will  give  rise  to 
it ;  and  particular  kinds  of  diet,  as  subsisting  entirely 
upon  flesh  food,  will  produce  it.  In  short,  I  know  a  few, 
and  only  a  few;  of  those  things  which  will  cause  it ;  and 
my  time  has  been  so  taken  up  that  I  have  been  able  to 
observe  but  five  distinct  varieties ;  though  my  reason 
informs  me  there  are  many  more  than  I  here  describe. 
However,  as,  in  describing  five  kinds  of  mange,  I  do 
more  than  either  of  my  predecessors,  the  public  must  be 
content  with  the  moiety  for  the  present ;  and  wait  till 
either  I  find  time  to  accurately  note,  if  possible,  the  dif- 


DOGS!    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  411 

ferent  forms  which  mange  in  the  dog  will  assume,  or 
some  more  close  observer  comes  forth  to  take  the  task 
from  before  me. 

True  mange  is  dependent,  as  in  the  horse,  upon  an  in- 
sect ;  and  though  not  commonly  met  with,  is  known  by 
the  same  symptoms,  as  the  similar  affection  in  the  more 
valuable  animal.  The  skin  is  partially  denuded  of  hair, 
but  never  perfectly  so  ;  for  in  the  most  bare  place,  hairs, 
either  single  or  in  small  and  distinct  patches,  will  be  seen 
adhering  to  the  surface  of  the  body  :  these  remaining 
hairs  are  very  firmly  planted  in  the  skin,  have  a  coarse 
or  unnatural  feel,  and  look  all  awry  and  unthrifty.  The 
skin  appears  very  dry  and  scaly ;  it  is  corrugated,  or 
thrown  into  ridges.  The  parts  chiefly  affected  have  been 
the  back,  eyes,  neck,  &c. ;  though  no  part  of  the  body 
is  exempt,  for  I  have  seen  it  virulent  upon  the  feet,  and 
the  rest  of  the  body  comparatively  untouched. 

The  animal  appears  dejected,  though  at  seasons  he 
may  assume  his  usual  liveliness;  but  when  nothing 
attracts  his  attention,  his  time  is  nearly  consumed  in 
scratching  himself  violently.  His  appetite  generally  re- 
mains good,  notwithstanding  the  torture  he  endures  ;  but 
the  heat  of  the  body  denotes  fever,  and  his  thirst  may  be 
excessive 

The  treatment  consists  in  rubbing  the  body  over  with 
some  of  the  various  dressings  for  mange  ;  some  of  which, 
however,  are  compounded  for  the  horse,  and  do  not  very 
well  suit  the  canine  race.  Care  should  be  taken  that  the 
dressing,  of  whatever  nature  it  may  be,  reaches  and  is 


412  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

expended  upon  the  skin,  as  simply  anointing  the  dog  or 
smearing  the  salve  upon  the  hair  is  of  no  earthly  use. 
The  unguent  which  I  have  employed,  and  with  such 
success  as  emboldens  me  to  recommend  it,  is  composed 
of— 

Ung.  resini    ...     As  much  as  you  please  to  take. 

)  A  sufficiency  to  make  the  rosin  ointment 
Sulph.  sub.     .     .     .  > 

)      very  thick. 

)  Enough  to  make  the  unguent  of  a  proper 
OLjunip. .     .     .     .   > 

)      consistency,  but  not  too  thin. 

This  is  to  be  applied  one  day  ;  washed  off  the  next ;  and 
then  the  dressing  repeated  until  the  dog  has  been  dressed 
three  times,  and  washed  thrice ;  after  which  the  ointment 
may  be  discontinued :  but  again  had  recourse  to  if  the 
animal  exhibits  the  slightest  signs  of  uneasiness ;  when 
the  entire  process  may  be  gone  through  once  more. 
Mercurial  ointments  are  the  most  certain  remedies  for 
this  disorder;  but  then  they  are  not  safe,  and  should 
always  be  avoided  where  the  dog  is  concerned. 

The  second  kind  of  mange  is  where  hair  partially  falls 
off;  and  this  kind  of  disorder  is  well  marked  by  bare 
patches  of  small  dimensions,  showing  themselves  on  the 
point  of  the  elbow  and  any  part  which  is  prominent,  and 
which  the  animal  might  be  supposed  to  have  rubbed  as 
he  lay  in  his  kennel.  The  patches  are  small  and  free 
from  hair;  but  at  the  same  time  the  skin  exposed  is 
rough,  scaly,  thickened,  and  corrugated.  The  itching  is 
intense ;  but  it  does  not  particularly  affect  the  exposed 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  413 

part ;  it  rather  seems  to  reside  in  those  portions  of  the 
body  which  are  well  covered  with  hair. 

For  this  form  of  disease  the  cure  begins  with  tonic 
medicine ;  and  after  this  has  been  administered  a  week 
or  a  fortnight,  as  the  strength  may  appear  to  require 
restoration,  it  is  suddenly  left  off;  and  liquor  arsenicalis 
in  gradually  increasing  doses  is  administered.  If  it  be  a 
little  dog,  let  the  first  day's  dose  consist  of  half-a-drop 
each  time ;  and  if  for  a  large  animal,  of  two  drops  each 
dose ;  three  doses  in  either  case  to  be  given  in  the  course 
of  the  day.  In  the  former  case,  the  quantity  of  arseni- 
calis is  to  be  increased  half-a-drop  each  day,  and  in  the 
latter  instance  one  drop  daily  is  to  be  the  advance ;  the 
quantity  in  both  cases  to  be  distributed  over  three  doses, 
one  to  be  given  in  the  morning,  one  at  noon,  and  the  last 
at  night. 

The  medicine  is  to  be  kept  on  increasing  each  day, 
until  the  dog  loathes  his  food ;  has  a  running  from  the 
eyes;  a  scarlet  conjunctiva;  or  exhibits  some  symptom 
that  denotes  the  physic  has  hold  of  his  system ;  when  the 
arsenicalis  is  to  be  discontinued  for  three  days,  and  then 
steadily  persevered  with  at  the  dose  which  preceded  the 
derangement.  Thus,  supposing  it  requires  three  and  a 
half  drops  to  throw  the  small  dog  off  his  appetite,  the 
quantity  to  resume  with  will  in  that  case  be  three  drops. 

There  is  no  power  I  possess  which  can  predicate  the 
quantity  of  the  liquor  arsenicalis  which  an  animal  will 
bear ;  us  effects  on  different  creatures  of  the  same  species 
aie  so  various,  that  what  one  can  gorge  with  impunity 


414  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

would  kill  his  companion.  On  this  account  no  fixed 
quantity  of  the  medicine  can  be  recommended ;  but  the 
practitioner  must  be  satisfied  to  watch  the  symptoms 
induced,  and  be  content  to  be  guided  by  these.  So  soon 
as  the  physiological  symptom  is  beheld,  the  good  results 
of  the  medicine  may  be  anticipated ;  and  no  compound 
in  the  pharmacopoeia  works  with  greater  certainty.  The 
disease  will  begin  to  decline ;  and  in  a  month,  six  weeks, 
or  two  months  at  furthest,  will  be  thoroughly  eradicated. 
In  the  course  of  that  period,  however,  it  may  be  as  well 
to  give  Nature  a  jolt  every  now  and  then,  by  occasionally 
increasing  the  dose,  being  always  prepared  to  diminish  it 
on  the  symptoms  giving  the  slightest  hint  that  it  is  pru- 
dent so  to  do.  The  arsenicalis  should  be  used  simply 
diluted  with  water ;  and  during  the  period  occupied  by 
the  cure,  no  other  medicine  whatever  will  be  required. 

The  next  form  of  mange  attacks  very  fat  and  cruelly 
overfed  animals.  The  poor  dog  is  very  foul.  He,  as  it 
were,  smells  aloud ;  and  his  hide  is  enormously  thick- 
ened, being  everywhere  devoid  of  sensation.  Pinch  it  as 
hard  as  you  can — even  until  the  moisture  be  forced 
through  th§  pores  by  the  pressure — and  the  operation 
which  should  inflict  pain,  will  only  communicate  pleasure. 

The  animal,  instead  of  crying  out  or  endeavoring  to 
snap,  will  stand  altogether  quiet,  the  expression  of  the 
face  announcing  the  perfect  delight  it  experiences  ;  or  the 
head  turns  round  to  lick  the  hand  of  thepincher,  thereby 
entreating  him  to  continue  the  delicate  recreation. 

The  hair  is  generally  more  or  less  removed  from  the 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  415 

back ;  and  the  thickest  portions  of  the  skin  are  either 
above  the  neck,  or  just  before  the  tail.  The  animal  is 
the  whole  day  dull,  never  being  alive  except  at  meal- 
times, when  it  is  all  activity  ;  the  rest  of  the  day  is 
passed  in  sleeping,  licking,  scratching,  biting,  and  gnaw- 
ing its  person — to  the  infinite  annoyance  of  an  indulgent 
master,  who  looks  on  the  mass  of  disease  before  him,  and 
with  regret  pictures  the  animated  creature  which  it  once, 
was. 

Here  the  mode  of  feeding  must  be  changed.  Flesh 
must  be  strictly  prohibited.  Boiled  rice  forms  the  most 
wholesome  diet;  but  even  rice  milk  will  not  be  touched. 
Neither  will  be  eaten  at  first ;  but  this  does  not  much 
signify,  as  a  day  or  two  of  abstinence  rather  does  good 
than  injury.  If,  however,  the  refusal  to  feed  be  exhi- 
bited beyond  the  third  day,  one,  two,  or  three  ounces  of 
meat,  according  to  the  size,  may  be  allowed ;  which 
quantity,  though  insufficient  to  satisfy  the  desires,  is  suf- 
ficient to  keep  a  dog  alive  and  hungry  for  an  almost  inde- 
finite period.  Fresh  vegetable  diet  should  be  presented 
every  day;  and  if  declined,  it  should  immediately  be 
withdrawn.  On  no  account  should  it  be  allowed  to 
remain  about,  and  the  animal  to  blow  upon  it  till  it  either 
becomes  stale  or  noisome  in  the  creature's  eyes.  Fresh 
clean  rice  should  be  boiled,  and  presented  every  morn- 
ing ;  and  this  should  be  offered  and  withdrawn,  as  though 
it  were  too  choice  a  luxury  to  be  twice  refused.  The 
animal,  tired  out,  and  despairing  of  gaining  anything 
better  to  eat  through  resistance,  will  fall  to  the  loathed 


416  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

dish  at  last ;  and  afterward  swallow  it  without  any  coax- 
ing, although  the  preference  for  flesh  as  food  will  be 
cherished  to  the  death. 

The  food  being  managed  as  directed,  the  dog  may  also 
have  first  a  mild  emetic,  to  be  followed  by  three  doses,  on 
three  different  days,  of  castor-oil  prepared  as  recom- 
mended, p.  116. 

To  these  is  to  succeed  a  course  of  pretty  strong  tonics, 
to  keep  up  the  general  tone  of  the  body,  invigorate  the 
appetite,  and  to  support  the  strength.  Likewise  a  cold 
bath  every  morning  may  be  added,  and  plenty  of  exer- 
cise in  the  course  of  the  day. 

So  soon  as  the  appetite  is  subdued,  stimulating  dress- 
ings are  applied  down  the  back,  where  the  hair  is  want- 
ing ;  and,  for  a  beginning,  the  common  mange  liniment 
answers  very  well.  It  is  thus  prepared  : — 

OL  tereb \ 

OL  picis s  Of  each  equal  parts.    Mix. 

OL  nucis ) 

This  may  at  first  attract  no  notice ;  after  it  has  been 
submitted  to  for  a  week,  add  to  every  three  pints  an 
extra  pint  of  turpentine,  which  will  soon  banish  all  the 
philosophy  the  strongest-minded  dog  may  have  at  his 
command.  Even  subsequent  to  the  period  when  the 
application  of  the  liniment  is  received  with  the  acutest 
and  most  piteous  cries,  the  torture  must  be  continued 
until  the  skin,  being  reduced  to  its  natural  thickness, 
announces  that  its  office  is  perfected  ;  only,  with  the  pro- 


DOGS!     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  41 T 

duction  of  this  last  effect,  the  agent  that  gives  such  pain 
should  be  used  less  lavishly. 

During  the  application  of  the  liniment,  some  diluted 
liquor  arsenicalis  may  also  be  administered,  and  even  the 
pills  containing  iodide  of  sulphur  exhibited. 

The  fourth  kind  of  mange  is  where  the  hair  falls  sud- 
denly off  in  circular  patches.  For  this  any  simple  oint- 
ment, as  the  ung.  cest.  or  no  application  at  all  is  sufficient. 

The  fifth  kind  is  the  worst,  especially  where  it  attacks 
young  pups.  Almost  all  the  hair  falls  off;  and  the  poor 
little  creature  is  thin,  and  nearly  naked,  while  the  surface 
of  the  body  is  covered  with  dark  patches,  and  compara- 
tively large  pustules.  If  the  dark  patches  be  punctured, 
a  quantity  of  venous  and  grumous  blood  exudes ;  but  the 
wound  soon  heals.  In  full-grown  dogs,  the  same  form 
of  disease  seldom  involves  more  than  the  top  of  the  head, 
neck,  and  the  entire  length  of  the  back ;  but  it  is  pre- 
cisely of  the  self-same  character  as  in  the  more  juvenile 
animal. 

In  both  cases  the  treatment  is  the  same.  The  dark 
pustules  are  to  be  cut  into,  which  produces  no  pain ;  and 
the  pustules  are  to  be  freely  opened,  which  operation  is 
attended  with  no  apparent  effects.  The  bare  skin  is  to 
be  then  washed  tenderly  with  warm  water  and  a  soft 
sponge,  after  which  the  body  may  be  lightly  smeared 
over  with  the  ointment  of  camphor  and  mercury ;  see  p. 
265.  This  operation  must  be  repeated  daily.  The  liquor 
arsenicalis  may  be  administered  as  drops,  and  pills  of  the 
iodide  of  sulphur  likewise  exhibited. 

IS* 


418  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

Where  the  dog  is  old,  a  cure  invariably  results ;  but 
it  takes  time  to  bring  it  about.  Perhaps  months  may  be 
thus  consumed ;  and  the  practitioner  will  require  a  good- 
ly stock  of  patience  before  he  undertake  the  treatment 
of  such  a  case.  The  proprietor,  therefore,  must  be  en- 
dowed with  some  esteem  for  the  animal,  before  he  can  be 
induced  to  pay  for  all  the  physic  it  will  consume.  I  can- 
not account  for  so  virulent  a  form  of  skin  disease  affect- 
ing pups ;  but  certain  it  is,  that  they  have  scarcely  left 
the  dam  before  its  signs  are  to  be  detected.  Probably 
it  may  be  owing  to  their  being  weaned  upon  garbage  or 
putrid  flesh.  Certain  it  is  that  the  cure  of  creatures  at 
this  tender  age  greatly  depends  upon  their  previous 
keep.  If  it  has  for  any  known  length  of  time  been  good 
and  generous,  the  practitioner  may  undertake  the  case 
without  fear ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  pup,  though 
of  a  valuable  breed,  had  lived  in  filth,  never  enjoyed  ex- 
ercise, and  been  badly  nurtured,  no  entreaties  should 
tempt  the  veterinarian  to  promise  a  restoration.  It  will 
certainly  perish,  not  perhaps  of  the  skin  disease,  but  of 
debility. 

Here  I  may  for  the  present  conclude  my  imperfect 
account  of  mange ;  again  insisting  that  in  every  form  of 
the  disorder  the  food  is  to  consist  of  vegetables,  and 
every  kind  of  flesh  is  to  be  scrupulously  withheld,  unless 
to  pups  in  a  very  weakly  condition.  Elaine  and  Youatt 
speak  of  alteratives  as  necessary  towards  the  perfection 
of  a  cure  ;  but  as  I  am  simply  here  recording  my  expe- 
rience, all  I  can  say  is,  I  have  not  found  them  to  be  re- 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  419 

quired.  Cleanliness — the  bed  being  repeatedly  changed 
— free  exercise — wholesome,  not  stimulating  food — and 
fresh  water — are  essential  towards  recovery.  In  no  case 
should  the  dog  suffering  under  these  complaints  be  allow- 
ed to  gorge  or  cram  itself;  but  the  victuals  must  be 
withdrawn  the  instant  it  has  swallowed  sufficient  to  sup- 
port "nature. 


CANKER  WITHIN   AND   WITHOUT  THE   EAR. 

ELAINE  treats  of  these  two  as  different  diseases.  Youatt 
speaks  of  them  as  the  same  disease  situated  on  different 
parts.  As  they  differ  in  their  origin  and  in  their  effects, 
however  closely  they  may  be  united,  I  hold  Elaine's 
arrangement  to  be  the  soundest,  and  therefore  to  that 
I  shall  adhere.  Water-dogs  are  said  to  be  the  most 
liable  to  attacks  of  these  disorders ;  but  I  have  not  found 
such  to  be  the  case.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ex,  near 
Exeter,  Devonshire,  for  instance,  there  are  numerous 
dogs  kept  for  the  purpose  of  recovering  the  wild  fowl, 
by  shooting  of  which  their  masters  exist  during  winter. 
Here  is  rather  a  wide  field  for  observation  ;  but  among 
the  many  water-dogs  there  to  be  found,  the  canker  both 
internal  and  external  is  unknown;  whereas  there  is  scarce- 
ly a  dog  kept  in  town,  especially  of  the  larger  size,  that 
does  not  present  a  well-marked  case  of  canker.  The  Lon- 
don dog  is,  for  the  most  part,  over-fed  on  stimulating  diet 
(flesh),  and  kept  chained  up,  generally  in  a  filthy  state. 
The  country  dog  gets  plenty  of  exercise,  being  allowed 


420  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

to  sleep  in  the  open  air  where  he  pleases  outside  of  his 
master's  cottage,  and  has  but  little  food,  and  very  seldom 
any  flesh.  I  scarcely  ever  have  a  sporting  dog  sent  to 
me,  on  the  approach  of  autumn,  suffering  from  what 
their  masters  are  pleased  to  term  "  foul,"  but  canker 
within  and  without  the  ear  are  found  to  be  included  in 
the  so-called  disorder.  Often  am  I  desired  to  look  at 
both  long-haired  and  short-haired  dogs,  and  find  both 
kinds  victims  to  these  diseases  ;  but  canker  without  the 
ear,  or  on  the  flap  of  the  ear,  I  never  see  without  canker 
within  the  ear  being  also  present.  Canker  on  the  flap 
of  the  ear,  it  is  true,  becomes  the  worst  in  short-haired 
dogs,  because  these  animals  have  this  part  by  nature 
more  exposed  to  injury.  Long-haired  dogs,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  the  disease  within  the  organ  worst,  because 
the  warmth  of  their  coats  serves  to  keep  hot  and  to  en- 
courage the  disorder. 

Therefore,  we  find  on  inquiry  that  neither  breed  of 
dogs  is  more  liable  or  more  subject  to  be  attacked  by  a 
particular  kind  of  canker  ;  though  in  each  kind  there  ex- 
ist circumstances  calculated  to  give  a  direction  to  the  dis- 
ease when  once  established.  Authors  speak  of  rounding 
the  ear  for  external  canker ;  that  is,  of  taking  a  portion 
of  the  border  away,  so  as  to  leave  the  flap  of  the  ear  the 
less  for  the  operation ;  and  fox-hounds  are  said  to  have 
the  ears  rounded  to  escape  the  ravages  of  the  disorder. 
There  are  said  to  have  been  poor  dogs  subjected  to 
a  second  and  third  rounding ;  till  at  length  the  entire 
ear  has  been  rounded  away,  and  the  Avretched  beast  h~  • 


BOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  421 

been  at  Last  destroyed;  because  man  first  fed  it  %ill 
it  was  diseased,  and  then  was  too  heartless  properly  to 
study  the  nature  of  the  affection  which  tormented  the 
animal. 

Let  those  who  may  feel  disposed  to  question  this  view 
of  external  canker,  ask  themselves  what  it  is  which  in- 
duces the  dog  to  shake  his  head  violently  at  first  ?  For 
the  brute  must  shake  the  head  violently  and  frequent- 
ly, before  canker  in  the  flap  can  be  established.  The 
disease  is,  in  the  first  instance,  thus  mechanically  induced. 
It  has  its  origin  in  the  violent  action  of  the  beast ;  and 
that  action  is  the  very  one  which  ensues  upon  the  animal 
being  attacked  by  internal  canker. 

The  dog  shakes  his  head  long  before  the  eye  can 
detect  anything  within  the  ear.  By  tl  at  action,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  we  are  led  to  inspect  the  part.  The 
action  is  symptomatic  of  the  disorder,  and  it  is  the  ear- 
liest sign  displayed.  In  the  dog  whose  coat  does  not 
favor  internal  canker,  it  may,  however,  establish  the  ex- 
ternal form  of  the  disease ;  which  being  once  set  up, 
may  afterwards  even  act  as  a  derivative  to  the  original 
disorder. 

External  canker  is  nothing  more  in  the  first  stage  than 
a  sore  established  around  the  edge  of  the  ear,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  dog  violently  shaking  the  head,  and  there- 
by hitting  the  flap  of  the  ear  with  force  against  the  col- 
lar, chain,  neck,  &c.  Shaking,  however,  does  not  cure 
the  annoyance.  An  itching  within  the  ear  still  remains ; 
which  the  dog,  doubtless  imagining  it  to  be  caused  by 


422  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

some  foreign  body,  endeavors  to  shake  out.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  continued  action,  the  sore  is  beaten  more 
and  more,  till  an  ulcer  is  established ;  the  ulcer  extends, 
involves  the  cartilage  which  gives  substance  to  the  flap 
of  the  ear,  and  thus  is  created  a  new  source  of  increased 
itching.  The  ulcer  enlarges,  becomes  offensive  ;  and  he 
who  is  consulted,  instead  of  seeking  for  the  cause,  be- 
gins by  attending  to  the  effect.  Various  remedies  are 
employed  to  cure  the  flap  of  the  ear  ;  and  each  and  all 
of  these  failing,  the  poor  animal  is  at  length  rounded,  and 
as  books  and  teachers  advise,  rounded  high  enough  up. 

All  the  diseased  parts  are  carefully  cut  away  ;  but  the 
disease  appears  again,  and  the  wretched  beast  is  rounded 
a  second  time.  On  this  occasion  the  rounding  is  carried 
still  deeper,  the  operator  being  resolved  the  knife  this 
time  shall  take  effect.  The  dog  has  little  ear  left  when  the 
disease  appears  again ;  and  the  master  saying  he  wants 
his  dog  for  the  field — to  shoot  over,  and  not  to  look  at — 
the  remaining  portion  of  the  ear  is  removed,  hoping  for 
better  luck  this  time.  However,  chances  are  now  against 
them ;  they  have  cut  beyond  mere  skin  and  cartilage, 
into  the  seat  of  flesh  in  goodly  substance.  Spite  of  the 
brutal  use  of  the  red-hot  iron,  the  hemorrhage  is  great, 
and  ulcers  appear  before  the  cicatrix  is  perfected  The 
miserable  animal  having  nothing  more  that  can  be  cut 
away,  is  then  killed,  being  said  to  be  incurably  affect- 
ed. 

This  is  a. true  history,  and  can  be  substantiated  by 
reference  to  all  the  authors  who  have  hitherto  written 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  423 

about  the  dog.  It  does  not,  therefore,  depend  solely 
upon  the  testimony  of  the  present  writer  ;  but  sad  is 
the  reflection,  that  all  the  pain  and  suffering  thus  occa- 
sioned was  unnecessary.  Canker  without  the  ear  cannot 
be  established  unless  canker  within  the  ear,  in  the  first 
instance,  exists.  It  may  not  be  violent ;  it  may  be  pre- 
sent only  in  an  incipient  stage,  and  never  get  beyond  it; 
but  in  this  state  it  is  sufficient  to  annoy  the  animal,  ana 
make  it  shake  its  head.  Doing  this,  however,  it  does 
enough  to  mislead  the  practitioner,  and  cause  the  death 
of  the  unfortunate  animal. 

When  a  dog  is  brought  with  canker  in  the  flap,  the 
first  thing  I  order  is  a  calico  cap,  to  keep  the  animal 
from  shaking  the  ear.  I  then  give  the  person  ac- 
companying the  creature  a  box  of  the  mercurial  and 
camphor  ointment,  ordering  it  to  be  well  applied  to  the 
external  ear  thrice  daily,  with  the  intention  of  cooling 


DOO  WITH  A  CANKBB  CAP  OK. 


the  part.  I  do  nothing  absolutely  to  heal  the  ulcers 
beyond  keeping  the  part  from  being  shaken ;  for  I  have 
not  yet  met  with  a  case  in  which  the  cartilage  has  been 


424  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

positively  involved,  however  much  authors  may  write 
about  such  a  texture  having  suffered.  I  direct  my  chief 
attention  to  the  healing  of  the  internal  ear,  from  which 
I  trace  all  the  evil  to  have  sprung.  For  this  purpose  I 
give  a  bottle  of  the  canker-wash,  described  a  little  further 
on,  ordering  it  to  be  applied  thrice  daily,  and  rest  con- 
tented as  to  the  result. 

With  regard  to  internal  canker,  how  virulent  was  the 
disorder,  and  to  what  lengths  it  used  to  progress,  may  be 
imagined  from  reading  Elaine  and  Youatt ;  both  of  whom 
speak  with  terror  of  its  effects,  advising  the  use  of  agents 
for  the  recommendation  of  which  I  cannot  account, 
excepting  by  the  supposition  that  they  were  selected 
under  the  influence  of  fear.  Most  of  the  solutions  advised 
are  painful ;  but  how  far  they  were  effective  we  may 
conjecture  from  the  descriptions  they  have  left  us  of  the 
disease.  They  tell  us  that,  as  the  disorder  proceeds,  it 
eats  into  the  brain ;  either  causing  the  dog  to  .  be 
destroyed,  or  driving  it  phrenetic.  The  poor  animal,  we 
are  informed,  leans  the  head  upon  the  fore-feet,  the  dis- 
eased ear  being  pressed  downwards,  and  continually 
utters  a  low  moan,  which  at  length  rises  into  one  pro- 
longed howl.  Of  all  this  I  know  nothing;  but  I  re- 
member at  college,  when  going  the  rounds  with  the 
Professor  Simonds,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  hearing  one  of 
those  huge  howls  which  are  uttered  by  large  dogs  when 
enduring  excessive  torture.  On  my  asking  whence  the 
sound  proceeded,  I  was  coolly  informed  by  my  teacher 
that  he  supposed  Sam  (the  head  groom)  had  been  pouring 


DOGS  I    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  425 

some  dressing  into  the  ear  of  a  dog  that  had  got  canker. 
Of  what  the  dressing  that  had  occasioned  such  pain  was 
composed,  I  never  inquired  ;  but  we  may  judge  of  its 
power  to  destroy  the  bone,  from  the  extent  of  the  agony 
which  it  produced.  No  wonder,  when  such  powerful 
agents  were  employed,  the  bone,  the  brain,  or  any  other 
part,  was  affected. 

Thank  heaven  !  there  is  one  good  custom  prevalent  in 
this  disease — dogs  affected  with  it  are  brought  to  us 
early.  Often,  when  the  animal  is  only  observed  to  be 
constantly  shaking  and  scratching  the  ear,  the  proprietors 
bring  the  dog  for  us,  to  remove  something  from  the  inte- 
rior of  the  organ.  At  other  times,  and  with  the  most 
careless  or  unobservant  masters  the  dog  is  brought  under 
our  notice  with  a  blackened  discharge  within  the  convo- 
lutions of  the  ear,  and  a  slight  smell,  like  decayed  cheese, 
proceeding  from  it.  A  crackling  sensation  is  then 
imparted  to  the  fingers  when  the  base  of  the  ear  below 
the  flap  is  manipulated;  the  necessary  pressure  some- 
times drawing  forth  an  expression  of  pain.  A  worse  case 
than  this  I  have  not  encountered ;  though  how  common 
canker  has  been  in  my  practice  may  be  conjectured  from 
my  keeping  a  two-gallon  stock-bottle  of  the  wash  in  my 
surgery,  and  a  label,  for  the  bottles  in  which  it  is  sent 
out,  within  my  drawers.  The  mode  of  administering  this 
wash  is  admirably  described  by  Youatt,  from  whose  pages 
I  transcribe  it : — 

"  Some   attention  should  be  paid   to   the   method  of 


426  DOGS  t     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

applying  these  lotions.  Two  persons  will  be  required  in 
order  to  accomplish  the  operation.  The  surgeon  must 
hold  the  muzzle  of  the  dog  with  one  hand,  and  have  the 
root  of  the  ear  in  the  hollow  of  the  other,  and  between 
the  first  finger  and  the  thumb.  The  assistant  must  then 
pour  the  liquid  into  the  ear ;  half  a  tea-spoonful  will 
usually  be  sufficient.  The  surgeon,  without  quitting  the 
dog,  will  then  close  the  ear,  and  mould  it  gently  until  the 
liquid  has  insinuated  itself  as  deeply  as  possible  into  the 
passages  of  the  ear." 

The  warming  of  the  fluid  I  find  to  be  unnecessary ; 
and  there  is  something  to  be  added  to  the  above  direc- 
tion, when  the  wash  I  advise  is  employed.  After  one  ear 
is  done,  let  it  be  covered  closely  with  the  flap,  and  the 
other  side  of  the  head  turned  upward  without  releasing  the 
dog.  When  both  are  finished,  take  a  firm  hold  of  the  dog, 
and  fling  him  away  to  any  distance  the  strength  you  pos- 
sess is  capable  of  sending  the  animal ;  for  the  instant  the 
dog  is  loose,  it  will  begin  shaking  its  head,  and,  as  the  can- 
ker-wash I  employ  contains  lead,  wherever  a  drop  falls,  a 
white  mark  or  spot,  as  the  liquid  dries,  will  be  left  behind. 

CANKER  WASH. 

Liqnorplumbi   .    .    .    .»o{botll         j     ^ 
AquadistiL f 

Youatt  speaks  of  the  liquor  plumbi  as  a  dangerous 
agent  to  the  dog,  and  advises  for  canker  that  a  scruple  be 
mixed  with  an  ounce  of  water ;  but  in  opposition  to  that 
esteemed  author's  recommendation,  I  have  employed  the 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  427 

liquor  plmnbi  pure,  with  the  best  effect,  in  extreme 
cases;  though,  in  ordinary  disease,  the  above  is  suffi- 
ciently strong;  and  in  medicine  it  is  a  maxim  that  a 
sufficiency  is  enough. 

I  give  to  the  animal,  as  a  general  rule,  no  medicine  to 
take ;  but  invariably  recommend  the  dog  to  be  kept  on 
vegetable  diet ;  for,  inasmuch  as  meat  is  the  sole  cause 
of  the  disorder,  however  potent  may  be  the  drugs  em- 
ployed for  the  cure,  it  is  imperative  for  its  eradication 
that  the  cause  be  removed. 

Sometimes,  in  consequence  of  the  violent  shaking  of 
the  head,  serous  abscesses  of  considerable  size  form  inside 
the  flaps  of  the  ears.  This  mostly  happens  with  large 
dogs,  and  the  abscesses  are  hot  and  soft,  being  excessively 
tender.  The  animal  does  not  like  them  to  be  touched,  or 
even  looked  at,  but  is  frequently  shaking  the  head,  and 
howling  or  whining  afterwards. 

The  remedy  in  these  cases  is  equally  simple  and  effi- 
cient. The  person  who  undertakes  to  remedy  the  evil, 
first,  by  way  of  precaution,  tapes  the  animal ;  that  is,  he 
forms  a  temporary  muzzle,  by  binding  a  piece  of  tape 
thrice  firmly  round  the  creature's  mouth.  He  then  places 
the  dog  between  his  knees,  and  turning  up  the  ear,  with 
a  small  lancet  makes  quickly  an  opening  in  what  then  is 
the  superior  part  of  the  sac  in  the  inverted  ear.  This  is 
necessary,  because,  if  the  opening  were  made  inferiorly. 
all  the  fluid  would  escape,  and  the  side  of  the  emptied 
sac  would  collapse.  If  the  point  of  the  knife  even  could 
be  introduced  into  an  incision  made  upon  the  lower  part 


428  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

of  the  ear,  it  would  not  be  so  easy  to  cut  speedily  from 
below  upward,  as  to  push  the  blade  from  above  down- 
wards. Well,  the  opening  being  made  with  the  lancet,  a 
little  fluid  escapes  ;  but  no  pressure  being  put  on  the  sac, 
the  major  portion  is  retained.  The  operator  then  takes  a 
straight  probe-pointed  bistoury,  and  having  introduced  it 
into  the  orifice,  by  making  only  pressure,  instantly  divides 
the  sac.  Frequently  considerable  fluid  escapes ;  the 
beast  operated  upon  makes  up  its  mind  for  a  good  howl ; 
but,  finding  the  affair  over  before  its  mouth  was  moulded 


A   DOG   TAPED   OK   MUZZLED   FOR   OPERATION. 

4 

to  emit  the  sound,  the  cry  is  cut  short,  and  the  dog 
returns  to  have  the  tape  removed,  that  it  may  lick  the 
hand  that  pained  it. 

After  the  enlargement  is  slit  up,  nothing  more  is 
required  than  to  fill  the  sac  for  a  day  or  two  with  lint 
soaked  in  the  healing  fluid  ;  and  when  suppuration  is 
established  the  lint  may  be  withdrawn,  and  the  wound, 
if  kept  clean,  left  to  nature. 


DOGS*.    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  429 


THE  EYE. 

MOST  writers  describe  a  regular  series  of  disorders  asso- 
ciated with  the  eye  of  the  dog.  I  must  be  permitted  to 
recite  only  those  which  I  have  witnessed ;  and  surely,  if 
the  diseases  which  the  writers  alluded  to  above  have 
mentioned  do  exist,  I  must  have  encountered  some  soli- 
tary instance  of  each  of  them  ;  instead  of  which,  I  have 
been  honored  by  the  confidence  of  all  classes,  and  have 
after  all  to  confess  I  have  not  witnessed  a  specimen  of 
genuine  ophthalmia  in  this  animal. 

CATARACT. — This  derangement  of  the  visual  organ  is 
very  common  with  the  dog.  Every  old  animal  that  has 
lost  his  eyesight  is  nearly  certain  to  be  blind  from  cata- 
ract. The  optic  nerve  appears  to  have  retained  its 
health  long  after  the  crystalline  lens  has  parted  with  its 
transparency.  The  latter  becomes  opaque,  while  circum- 
stances allow  us  to  infer  the  former  is  yet  in  vigor ;  for 
certainly  dogs  do  see  through  lenses,  the  milky  or  chalky 
aspect  of  which  would  justify  us  in  pronouncing  the 
sight  quite  gone.  There  is  no  precise  time  when  cata- 
ract makes  its  appearance.  It  may  come  on  at  any 
period  or  at  any  age.  It  may  be  rapid  or  slow  in  its 
formation  ;  but  from  its  generally  known  habit,  we  should 
be  inclined  to  say  it  was  rather  slow  than  otherwise  ; 
though  upon  this  point  the  author  can  speak  with  no 
certainty.  No  breed  appears  to  be  specially  liable  to  it, 
but  all  seem  to  be  exposed  to  it  alike.  The  small-bred, 


430  DOGS  :     THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

house-kept,  high-fed  dogs,  however,  are  those  most  sub- 
ject to  be  attacked  by  it ;  for,  in  these  kinds  of  animals, 
on  account  of  the  derangement  of  the  digestive  organs, 
the  eyes  seem  to  be  disposed  to  show  cataract  earlier 
than  in  the  more  robust  creatures  of  the  same  breed. 

The  cause  of  this  affection  is,  in  the  horse,  usually  put 
down  to  blows ;  but,  in  the  dog,  we  dare  not  say  the  dis- 
order is  thus  produced.  The  dog  is  more  exposed  to  the 
kicks  and  cuff's  of  domestics  than  is  the  horse ;  the  vio- 
lence done  upon  the  first-named  animal  being  less  thought 
about,  and  therefore  less  likely  to  be  observed.  But 
that  the  disease  takes  its  origin  in  any  such  inhumanity 
the  author  has  no  proof,  and  no  intention  of  insinuating 
an  accusation  against  a  class,  who  being  generally  igno- 
rant, have  therefore  the  less  chance  of  a  reply. 

The  disease  seems  to  be  the  natural  termination  of  the 
animal's  eyesight ;  and,  though  the  author  has  seen  the 
iris  ragged-looking,  as  though  acute  ophthalmia  had 
loosed  its  ravages  upon  the  delicate  structures  of  the  eye, 
nevertheless  he  has  in  vain  endeavored  to  detect  the  pre- 
sence of  that  disease. 

Were  ophthalmia  common  enough  to  have  produced 
one-half  of  the  cataracts  which  are  to  be  witnessed  by 
him  who  administers  to  the  affections  of  the  canine 
species,  surely  I  must  have  met  with  it ;  as  not  being  a 
very  brief  disorder,  but  one  which  by  its  symptoms  is 
sure  to  make  itself  known,  I  must  have  encountered  it 
in  one  of  its  numerous  stages.  However,  not  having 
seen  it,  and  still  being  anxious  of  tracing  cataract  to  its 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  431 

source,  the  author  has  been  induced  to  attribute  it  to 
the  influences  of  old  age,  high  breeding,  or  too  stimulat- 
ing a  diet. 

Medicine  having  appeared  to  do  injury  rather  than  to 
produce  benefit,  the  author  has  generally  abandoned  it  in 
these  cases  ;  whereas  those  measures  which  are  within 
the  reach  of  every  proprietor,  such  as  change  of 
abode,  attention  to  necessary  cleanliness  without  cau- 
dling  in  the  bed,  wholesome  food,  and  a  total  abstinence 
from  flesh,  added  to  the  daily  use  of  the  cold  bath  with 
a  long  run,  and  constant  employment  of  a  penetrative 
hair-brush  to  the  skin  afterwards,  have  seemed  to  stay 
the  ravages  of  the  disorder  ;  and  on  these,  therefore,  the 
author  is  inclined  to  place  his  entire  dependence. 

GUTTA  SERENA. — The  author  has  seen  one  or  two 
cases  of  this  affection.  One  was  present  with  disease  of 
the  brain,  to  the  increase  of  which  it  was  clearly  traceable. 
The  other  was  attributable  to  no  known  cause ;  but  as  blows 
on  the  head  are  beyond  all  doubt  ascertained  to  produce  this 
affliction,  the  author  in  his  own  mind  has  no  doubt  of  its 
origin.  A  temporary  affection  of  this  nature  is  also  con- 
stantly witnessed  when  the  dog  falls  down  in  a  fit,  or 
rather  faints  from  weakness  ;  as  when  a  female  is  rearing 
an  undue  number  of  pups,  or  when  a  dog  has  been  too 
largely  bled,  or  retained  too  long  in  the  warm  bath. 

In  the  last  cases,  the  gutta  serena  departs  as  the  ani- 
mal recovers ;  but  in  the  first-named,  sometimes  it  is 
constant,  and  no  medicine  appears  to  affect  it  for  good  or 
for  evil.  The  author,  therefore,  does  nothing  in  such 


432  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

cases  beyond  giving  general  directions,  as  in  the  instance 
of  cataract. 

Gutta  serena  is  known  by  the  organ  being  perfectly 
clear,  but  the  iris  remaining  permanently  fixed.  The  in- 
troduction of  sudden  light  produces  no  effect  on  it ; 
neither,  unless  the  current  of  air  be  agitated,  does  the 
eyelid  move.  Towards  the  latter  stage  the  eye  changes 
color ;  but  when  it  first  occurs,  a  person  without  expe- 
rience would  prefer  the  eye  in  this  state,  because  it  looks 
so  thoroughly  bright  and  transparent.  The  aspect  of 
these  eyes  is  known  to  those  who  are  much  among  ani- 
mals, and  the  carriage  of  the  body  is  recognised  as 
altered  when  a  creature  becomes  blind;  besides  which, 
trust  him  alone,  and  his  running  against  different  obsta- 
cles, as  well  as  his  manner  of  walking,  will  declare  the 
truth. 

SIMPLE  OPHTHALMIA. — To  this  disorder  of  the  eye  the 
dog  is  very  susceptible.  It  may  be  caused  by  dust,  dirt, 
thorns,  or  portions  of  leaves  getting  into  the  eyes ;  the 
symptoms  are,  constant  closing  of  the  lid,  and  perpetual 
flowing  of  the  tears.  Though  the  eye  be  closed,  the  lid 
is  never  quiet ;  but  is  being,  during  the  entire  period, 
spasmodically,  though  partially,  raised  to  be  shut  again, 
or  in  perpetual  movement.  If  the  lids  are  forced  asun- 
der, the  conjunctiva  or  mucous  membrane  forming  the 
inner  lining  of  the  lid  is  seen  to  be  inflamed  ;  while  the 
same  membrane  covering  the  ball  of  the  eye  is  per- 
ceived to  be  of  a  white  color,  and  perfectly  opaque. 

The  cure  in  this  instance  is  always,  first,  to  remove 


DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  43,3 

the  cause  of  the  injury,  and  then  to  apply  some  of  the 
remedies  in  the  manner  mentioned  hereafter. 

The  conjunctiva  in  the  dog  is  very  sympathetic  with 
the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  stomach.  The  in- 
terior of  the  stomach  may  be  inflamed,  and  the  eye 
sometimes  exhibits  no  sign  of  sympathy ;  but  more  often, 
as  in  distemper  or  rabies,  it  will  denote  the  existence  of 
some  serious  disorder.  So  if  the  animal's  digestive  pow- 
ers are  weakened  by  an  undue  quantity  of  purgative 
medicine,  the  eyes  will  assume  all  the  symptoms  of  dis- 
temper, even  to  the  circular  ulcer  in  the  centre  of  the 
organ.  However,  in  instances  of  this  kind  nothing  need 
be  done  for  cure  ;  the  major  disorder  being  subdued,  the 
minor  one  subsides. 

No  matter  how  virulent  the  disease  of  the  eye  may 
appear  to  be — even  though  it  should  become  perfectly 
opaque — let  it  alone :  any  meddling  does  injury.  No 
bathing  or  medicaments  can  hasten  the  cure.  Although 
it  should  ulcerate  in  the  centre,  and  the  terrible  appear- 
ance of  the  eye  be  seconded  by  the  entreaties  of  the 
proprietor,  still  I  caution  you  to  continue  quite  passive. 
Touch  the  ulcer  with  nitrate  of  silver,  as  is  the  common 
practice,  and  the  eye  will  most  likely  burst.  The  aque- 
ous humor  will  escape,  and  a  large  bunch  of  fungus  will 
start  up  in  the  place  of  the  ulcer  occupied.  This  fungus, 
if  let  alone,  may  fade  away  as  the  stomach  returns  to 
health ;  but  a  white  spot  is  established  in  its  place  to  re- 
mind you  of  your  officiousness. 

Nevertheless,  simple  ophthalmia  occasionally  will  ap- 


434  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT 

pear  when  nothing  can  be  detected  to  affect  the  stomach; 
probably  owing  to  large  dogs  chasing  through  brush- 
wood, or  those  of  the  smaller  breeds  hunting  through 
long  grass.  Then  a  square  of  soft  lint,  formed  by  dou- 
bling a  large  piece  several  times,  is  laid  upon  the  painful 
organ,  and  kept  wet  with  the  following  lotion  : — 

(1.)    LOTION  FOR  TOE  EYE. 

Tinct.  arnic.  mont,      .         .        Three  drops. 
Tinct.  opii  .         .         .         Six  drops. 

Mist,  camph.       .         .         .         One  ounce. 

The  first  symptoms  having  subsided — that  is,  the  dog 
being  capable  of  raising  the  lid,  and  the  flow  of  tears 
having  in  some  measure  stopped — the  previous  lotion 
may  be  changed  for  the  following  wash  : — 

(2.)  EYE  WASH. 

Arg.  nit     ."    fl?>3?;il  j;;;^  r.?,  one  grain. 
Mist,  camph.,  or  Aq.  dist.  .         One  ounce. 

The  proper  manner  of  applying  these  preparations  to 
the  eye  deserves  notice.  Let  the  owner  buy  a  large- 
sized,  long-haired,  camel's-hair  painting  brush  ;  pour  a 
little  of  the  liquid  into  a  saucer ;  saturate  the  brush  in 
the  fluid ;  pull  the  lids  gently  asunder,  being  careful  not 
to  call  forth  resistance  by  frightening  a  timid  animal  with 
any  exhibition  of  haste  or  violence  ;  then,  having  the 
eye  exposed,  draw  the  brush  quickly  across  it,  and  the 
ousiness  is  over. 


DOGS!   .THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  435 

The  author  is  frequently  consulted  by  ladies,  because 
their  favorites'  eyes  run  water.  Such  is  a  consequence 
of  high  breeding  in  some  of  the  canine  species;  and 
being  so,  medicines  of  various  kinds,  by  drying  up  the 
secretion  of  the  lachrymal  gland,  may  at  first  appear  to 
do  good,  but  must  ultimately  be  fruitful  of  the  most 
serious  injury. 

EJECTION  OF  THE  EYE. — The  eye  of  the  dog  is 
rather  curiously  situated,  which,  as  th«  writer  knows  of 
no  author  who  has  remarked  on  its  position,  he  may  as 
well  refer  to  in  this  place.  The  eye  of  man  is  situated 
within  a  bony  orbit,  from  which  it  cannot  in  the  course  of 
nature  protrude.  The  eye  of  the  dog,  also,  has  an  orbit 
partly  formed  of  bone  ;  but  as  regards  the  ridge,  which 
in  man  supports  and  gives  prominence  to  the  eyebrow, 
in  the  dog  it  is  composed  of  ligament,  as  with  animals  of 
the  cat,  pig,  and  other  species.  The  reason  of  this  ar- 
rangement— the  cause  for  composing  part  of  the  orbit  of 
ligament — is  to  allow  the  eye  to  protrude  or  to  take  its 
place  without  and  before  the  orbit.  This  position  of  the 
eye  is  easily  perceived,  when  a  live  specimen  which  has 
confidence  in  man  is  examined  upon  the  knee,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  skull  is  inspected.  The  cause  of  this 
peculiar  situation  of  so  important  an  organ,  is  to  allow 
the  eye  to  possess  telescopic  properties ;  because  the  dog 
has  the  faculty  of  withdrawing  the  eye  within,  or  rather 
quite  to  the  back  of  the  orbit ;  as  any  who  have  beheld 
the  animal  in  some  stages  of  brain  disease,  or  the  last 
stage  of  distemper,  must,  with  their  attention  directed  to 


436  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

the  fact,  be  convinced.  The  dog  in  its  wild  state  lives 
by  the  chase,  and  therefore  has  Providence  endowed  his 
visual  organ  with  peculiarities  which  best  enable  it  to 
discover  its  prey ;  at  the  same  time,  also,  affording  extra 
scope  of  vision,  or  power  of  seeing  around  it,  to  the  eye 
of  the  animal. 

Owing  to  this  peculiarity,  the  eye  in  consequence  of  a 
bite  may  be  forced  out  upon  the  cheek ;  or,  as  once  hap- 
pened in  my  own  experience,  the  use  of  tapes  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  medicine  may  be  the  cause  of  the  in- 
jury. Whenever  this  happens,  procure  a  glass  of  clean 
milk-warm  water,  and  a  piece  of  soft  lint ;  then  wash  the 
pye ;  when  obtain  a  soft  napkin  ;  let  the  eye  be  well 
greased  with  any  mild  and  perfectly  sweet  ointment ; 
wrap  the  napkin  about  the  right  hand,  and  with  the  fin- 
gers thus  encased,  gently  take  hold  of  the  ejected  ball  of 
the  eye,  while  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  are  employed 
in  raising  the  lid  of  the  emptied  orbit ;  then  applying 
gentle  but  adequate  force,  and  at  the  same  time  giving 
to  the  wrist  of  the  right  hand  a  rotatory  motion,  the  eye 
will  at  once  assume  its  proper  place.  The  use  of  the  eye 
lotion  and  wash  will  perform  all  that  the  after  symptoms 
may  require. 

Dogs  are  often  brought  to  us  because  the  animal  has 
been  taking  liberties  with  the  cat ;  which  mistress  puss  has 
turned  to  resent,  and  her  paw — the  claws  in  the  moment 
of  irritation  being  out — has  unfortunately  scratched  the 
dog's  eye.  When  consulted  on  such  a  subject,  the  eye 
lotion  No.  1  is  in  most  instances  all  that  is  required  ;  for 


DOGS!  THEIR  MANAGEMENT.  437 

the  coverings  of  the  eye  are  endowed  with  great  powers 
of  self-reparation.  If,  however,  the  application  recom- 
mended does  not  perform  everything  to  the  proprietor's 
satisfaction,  the  eye  wash  No.  2  will  perfect  the  cure. 
Accidents  of  this  description  are  apt  to  leave  scars  in  the 
shape  of  white  marks  across  the  eye,  which  time  must 
be  allowed  to  remove  ;  and  this  in  general  is  performed, 
while  all  the  appliances  of  art  in  the  writer's  hand  have 
been  useless  for  hastening  this  object. 

DISEASES   OF   THE   LIMBS. 

THE  DEW-CLAWS. — The  dew-claws,  as  they  are  term- 
ed, grow  high  upon  the  inner  side  of  the  leg,  nearer  to 
the  foot  than  to  the  elbow.  They  are  frequently  re- 
moved while  the  dog  is  very  young,  being  then  merely 
cut  off  with  a  pair  of  scissors.  This,  however,  is  a  very 
primitive  way  of  operating ;  and  it  is  best  done  with 
a  knife,  first  reflecting  back  sufficient  skin  to  cover  the 
wound  which  the  removal  will  occasion.  The  excision, 
moreover,  is  only  justifiable  when  the  dew-claw  hangs 
from  the  leg  attached  to  it  merely  by  integument ;  when 
it  is  regularly  formed,  united  to  the  leg  by  means  of  con- 
tinuous bone,  it  may  be  allowed  to  remain ;  for  in  that 
case  there  is  little  more  danger  of  its  being  torn  off  as 
the  dog  grows  up  and  hunts  game,  than  any  other  of  the 
claws  appended  to  the  extremity  of  the  foot. 

THE  CLAWS. — These  frequently,  especially  in  petted 
dogs  that  pass  their  days  parading  about  on  Turkey  car- 
pets, become  of  extraordinary  length  ;  in  some  cases, 


438  DOGS:   THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

turning  round  and  forming  a  complete  circle,  so  as  to 
penetrate  the  little  pad  at  the  base  of  the  last  joint  of  the 
toe.  In  this  case  they  cause  swelling,  inflammation,  and 
suppuration,  accompanied  by  such  intense  pain,  that  in 
extreme  cases  it  may  be  necessary  to  take  away  the  toe 
of  the  foot  itself,  although  in  general  it  is  sufficient  to 
clip  the  offending  claw.  However,  to  do  this  nicely,  with 
expedition,  and  without  giving  great  pain  to  tho  patient, 
is  to  be  desired.  Blaine  recommends  -  small  saw,  such 
as  is  employed  to  cut  off  cockj  cpurs  with  ;  but  the  dog 
must  have  excessive  patience  and  extraordinary  powers 
of  endurance,  who  could  allow  this  to  be  moved  quickly 
backwards  and  forwards  on  a  claw,  one  end  of  which 
rests  on  an  inflamed  and  highly  sensitive  surface.  Be- 
sides, it  is  not  one  claw  we  are  generally  required  to 
remove,  but  sixteen  ;  and  long  before  the  first  had  been 
fairly  taken  off  by  the  method  advised  by  Blaine,  the 
cries  of  the  poor  animal  would  say,  "  Hold,  enough !  " 
Moreover,  favorites  of  the  class  I  have  mentioned  are 
generally  brought  by  their  mistresses,  who  cannot  endure 
their  pets  to  suffer,  and  rightly  refuse  to  leave  them  to 
the  mercy  of  a  veterinary  surgeon.  This  last  circum- 
stance requires  a  speedier  instrument  than  the  one  pro- 
posed by  Blaine,  to  be  discovered.  The  rowelling  bis- 
toury, employed  for  the  horses,  answers  better  than  the 
saw ;  but  even  it  occasions  so  much  pain  as  to  cause 
serious  annoyance  and  obstruction.  I  have  found  nothing 
answer  so  well  as  a  pair  of  wire  nippers  ;  which,  pro- 
vided they  be  in  good  condition,  will  take  off  the  whole 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  439 

of  a  dog's  claws,  although  for  the  operation  the  animal 
never  quits  its  mistress's  arms.  They  are  quick  and 
effective,  cutting  through  the  strongest  claw  on  the  in- 
stant ;  giving  no  pain  ;  often  removing  the  nail  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  patient,  who  provokes  laughter 
rather  than  commiseration  by  frequently  shamming  the 
agony  he  does  not  feel — venting  heart-rending  cries,  but 
invariably  in  the  wrong  place.  For  the  performance  of 
the  operation  there  is  but  one  caution  necessary,  and 
that  is,  to  leave  the  root  of  the  claw  long  enough,  or  not 
to  attempt  cutting  it  too  short ;  because  the  unnatural 
life  the  animal  lives  causes  small  arteries  to  extend  even 
into  the  growth  of  horn,  and  a  little  blood  is  a  terrible 
loss  in  a  lady's  eyes.  However,  beyond  causing  the  mis- 
tress distress,  the  practitioner  need  be  in  no  fear  about 
dividing  one  of  these  abnormal  vessels,  for  the  eccentric 
growth  of  which  the  most  experienced  practitioner  can- 
not at  all  times  be  prepared. 

FALLING  OFF  OF  THE  CLAW. — There  is  another  injury 
to  which  the  claws  of  the  dog  are  exposed,  and  the  cause 
of  which  in  no  instance  have  I  been  able  to  trace.  The 
toe  becomes  hot,  swollen,  and  inflamed  ;  the  animal  walks 
lame,  or  upon  three  legs.  Whenever  the  particular  claw 
in  fault  is  touched,  the  cries  of  the  dog  sufficiently  testify 
that  the  seat  of  the  disease  has  been  found.  A  simple 
treatment,  such  as  bathing  the  claw  and  placing  the  foot 
frequently  in  warm  water,  will  occasion  the  horny  cover- 
ing to  be  cast  off  in  a  few  days ;  after  which  all  that  is 
required  will  be  to  wrap  the  part  up  in  soft  lint  for  a 


440  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

short  period,  and  to  deprive  the  animal  of  its  accustomed 
exercise  for  a  day  or  two. 

SINUSES  UP  THE  CLAW. — These  are  of  frequent  exist- 
ence, and  are  commonly  found  where  their  presence  was 
not  suspected.  The  dog  walks  lame,  and  its  master's 
sagacity  cannot  discover  the  cause.  The  animal  is 
accordingly  submitted  to  our  inspection.  To  pin^h  the 
claw  in  this  case  is  of  no  use ;  it  can  only  mislead  the 
judgment.  The  better  plan,  after  having  ascertained 
none  of  the  claws  are  loose,  is  to  make  the  dog  stand 
upon  the  lame  foot  on  a  piece  of  blotting  paper.  If  the 
slightest  moisture  be  left  thereon,  throw  the  animal  on 
his  back,  and  minutely  examine  the  lower  surface  of  each 
claw.  On  one  will  be  seen  a  small  hole,  not  larger  than 
the  point  of  a  pin,  from  which  exudes  a  thin  watery  dis- 
charge. 

Soak  the  foot  in  warm  water ;  then  with  a  sharp  knife 
pare  off  the  superficial  horn ;  then  soak  and  pare  again  ; 
and  so  on  till  the  entire  claw  is  removed ;  when  slit  up, 
making  a  free  wound  of  any  sinuous  opening  that  may 
exist  in  the  ball  of  the  toe.  Dress  the  interior  of  the 
sinus  with  a  small  portion  of  sulphate  of  copper ;  after- 
wards with  the  healing  lotion  previously  recommended  ; 
and  all  will  do  well :  but  the  claw  once  taken  away, 
either  by  nature  or  art,  is  very  seldom  perfectly 
restored. 

FOOT-SORE. — Men  of  robust  habit,  who  shoot  over  an 
immense  tract  of  country,  and  take  a  pleasure  in  law- 
fully finding  the  game  they  kill,  often  have  to  complain 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  441 

that  their  dogs  become  foot-sore.  These  animals  have 
an  elastic  pad  at  the  bottom  of  each  foot,  on  which,  con- 
jointly with  the  nails  of  the  toes,  the  creatures  walk.  The 
bottom  of  the  dog's  foot  is  covered  with  a  thick  cuticle, 
which  is  rapidly  reproduced  in  ordinary  cases,  as  soon  as 
or  before  it  has  been  worn  down :  but  the  game  dog  is 
often  kept  inactive  during  the  summer,  and  then  in 
autumn  brought  into  sudden  work.  The  consequences 
of  this  foolish  practice  are,  that  nature  during  the  warm 
season  supplies  only  a  cuticle  fitted  to  the  wants  of  the 
animal,  which  being  suddenly  forced  to  endure  excessive 
exercise,  soon  wears  away,  and  the  foot  thus  left  devoid 
of  covering,  is  raw,  and  consequently  tender.  For  this 
state  of  the  part,  Elaine,  who  is  therein  followed  by 
Youatt,  recommends  "  pot  liquor."  I  do  not  know  what 
"  pot  liquor"  means.  Cooks  apply  the  name  to  various 
refuse  waters,  in  which  different  and  opposite  ingredients 
have  been  boiled.  If  so,  the  material  with  which  it  is 
made  being  dissimilar,  the  product  cannot  be  the  same. 
It  appears  to  be  a  filth,  generally  cast  into  the  hog-tub ; 
and  as  such  cannot  be  a  proper  medicine  wherewith  to 
cure  a  lame  dog's  foot.  I  throw  it  into  the  receptacle  for 
which  it  is  intended ;  and  do  so  because  I  cannot  under- 
stand it  is  possessed  of  any  curative  properties.  The 
mode  I  pursue  in  these  cases  is  simply  this  : — I  get  a  basin 
of  tepid  water  and  a  soft  sponge ;  and  I  then  well  wash 
the  injured  foot.  When  every  particle  of  grit  or  dirt  is 
thoroughly  removed,  I  apply  to  the  dried  sore  surface  a 
lotion  composed  of  two  grains  of  chloride  of  zinc  to  one 

10* 


442  DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

ounce  of  water,  with  one  or  two  drops  of  the  essence  of 
lemons.  Having  thoroughly  washed  the  foot  with  the 
lotion,  I  soak  some  rags  in  it,  which  I  wrap  around  the 
injured  member,  fixing  over  all  a  leather  or  gutta-percha 
boot ;  and  when  thus  treated,  and  the  animal  is  subse- 
quently brought  into  work  with  caution,  a  few  days  I 
find  generally  settles  the  business. 

DOG-CARTS. — This  appears  to  be  the  place  to  meet,  or 
rather  answer,  the  remarks  which  have  appeared  in 
Youatt's  work  on  this  subject.  He  argues,  because  the 
dog  is  a  beast  of  draught  in  northern  climes,  it  can  be 
without  violence,  and  indeed  was  intended  by  Providence 
to  be  used  as  such  in  temperate  countries.  Thus,  if  this 
argument  be  of  any  value,  that  which  the  dog  can  endure 
in  a  temperate  climate,  it  can  likewise  without  injury 
undergo  in  a  torrid  zone.  The  argument,  if  of  worth, 
admits  of  this  extension  ;  for,  if  the  subject  of  it  is  to  be 
moved  at  all,  it  is  not  for  the  reasoner  to  arrogate  the 
power  of  saying  at  what  point  it  shall  stop.  However, 
granting  him  to  possess  this  right,  he  will  thereby  gain 
nothing  by  it.  In  the  northern  climes,  where  the  dog  is 
employed  as  a  beast  of  draught,  it  is  so  used  only  for  the 
winter  season  ;  during  which  time  the  face  of  the  land- 
scape is  covered  by  one  sheet  of  snow.  Is  the  poor  dog 
in  a  cart,  as  seen  in  this  country,  only  so  employed  1  Is 
he  not  rather  obliged  to  drag  his  heavy  load,  to  which 
the  master's  weight  is  often  appended,  along  dusty  roads 
instead  of  snowy  paths,  and  at  the  top  of  his  speed, 
rather  than  at  a  pace  which  the  poor  creature  can  main- 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  443 

tain  for  hours  ?  Is  it  not  worked  in  summer  as  well  as 
winter  ?  Does  not  mud  cover  the  roadways  in  this 
country  during  the  colder  season  for  a  far  longer  period 
than  the  snow  ?  The  summer's  toil  must  be  most  oppres- 
sive to  this  over-tasked  animal ;  for,  though  the  dog  is 
naturalized  close  to  the  northern  pole,  he  becomes  scarce 
for  a  long  distance  before  the  equator  is  reached.  It  is 
the  creature  of  a  cold  climate  ;  and  what  it  can  do  in  one 
country  is  by  no  means  the  measurement  of  that"  which 
it  can  perform  in  another ;  as  those  who  have  been  at  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  exporting  hunting-clogs  from 
England  to  India  can  testify. 

The  foot,  moreover,  may  travel  over  a  sheet  of  snow 
with  impunity,  which  may  be  unsuited  for  journeying 
over  artificial  roads,  deep  in  mud  or  water ;  or  else  hot, 
dry,  and  parched  with  a  summer's  sun.  The  sportsman's 
dog  is  often  sore-footed  ;  and  do  the  approvers  of  dog- 
carts pretend  that  the  wretched  beast,  forced  by  an  in- 
human master  to  undue  labor,  is  of  a  different  species  ? 
If  the  animals  are  the  same,  how  can  it  be  argued  that 
the  organ,  which  when  moving  over  soft  ploughed  or 
grassy  fields  often  fails,  is  all -sufficient  for  the  longest 
and  heaviest  journey  performed  upon  a  hard  artificially 
constructed  road  1 

One  grave  senator  in  the  House  of  Lords  used  as  an 
argument  against  the  Bill  introduced  to  put  down  that 
abominable  nuisance,  dog-carts,  in  this  country,  the  plear 
sure  he  had  experienced,  when  a  child,  while  being 
drawn  in  a  carriage  pulled  by  a  dog  along  the  lawn 


444  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

attached  to  his  father's  residence.  There  is  no  legislation 
required  to  meet  such  cases.  No  doubt  the  pleasure  felt 
by  the  delighted  child  was  shared  by  the  beast,  who 
wagged  his  tail,  and  scarcely  felt  the  tax  imposed  upon 
its  huge  strength.  Had  the  cart  been  removed  from  the 
lawn  to  the  road,  and  been  knocked  up  with  rough 
wheels  and  without  springs,  like  the  carts  used  by  va- 
grant poor  are,  the  load  of  a  child  would  not  even  then 
have  made  the  cases  similar.  To  make  the  instances  the 
same,  the  cart  must  not  only  be  of  the  rudest  construc- 
tion, but  it  must  be  filled  with  weight  limited  solely  by 
the  master's  capacity  to  buy  ;  while  on  the  top  of  the 
burthen  must  be  placed,  not  a  happy  child,  but  an  idle 
full  grown  rascal.  And  the  vehicle  thus  encumbered 
must  be  dragged,  not  along  a  soft  lawn,  at  a  pace  neces- 
sary to  please  the  son  and  heir,  but  along  a  hard  road, 
at  a  rate  which  alone  can  satisfy  an  impatient  and  brutal 
master. 

In  whichever  way  we  regard  this  question,  reason 
proves  against  it,  and  the  dog  subject  to  the  most  dread- 
ful disease  that  is  communicable  to  man  should  on  no 
account,  in  this  densely  populated  country,  be  subjected 
to  usage  best  calculated  to  bring  on  the  malady. 

FRACTURES. 

A  FRACTURE  is  technically  called  a  solution  of  con- 
tinuity ;  but,  as  the  general  reader  will  imagine  the 
definition  can  hardly  be  correct,  with  regard  to  a  bone 
which  may  be  broader  than  it  is  long,  I  will  here  define 


DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  445 

it  to  be  the  violent  division  of  a  bone  into  two  or  more 
parts. 


Fractures  are  divided  into  comminuted,  simple,  and 
compound.  The  comminuted  and  compound,  for  the 
present  purpose,  may  be  regarded  as  one  and  the  same ; 
since  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  restore  the  bone  of  a 
dog  which  has  been  crushed  into  innumerable  pieces ; 
and  such  a  state  of  the  hard  structure  is  scarcely  possible 
to^exist  without  the  soft  parts,  as  flesh  or  muscle,  around 
tfhe  injury  being  involved,  or  the  lesion  rendered  com- 
pound as  well  as  comminuted  in  its  nature. 

Then  it  is  simple  fractures  only  thai  have  to  be  dealt 
with  in  this  place ;  and  a  simple  fracture  exists  when  a 
bone  is  snapped  across  into  two  equal  or  unequal  pieces. 
Tt  does  not  matter  at  what  point  the  injury  may  occur ; 
so  that  the  bone  be  broken  only  into  two  pieces,  and  none 
of  the  flesh  be  torn,  or  the  joint  involved,  the  fracture  is 
a  simple  one.  In  the  dog,  several  simultaneous  simple 


446  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

fractures  may  exist ;  as  where  the  animal  breaks  across 
the  whole  of  the  four  metatarsal  bones  proceeding  from 
the  hock  to  the  foot ;  or  snaps,  which  is  of  more  rare 
occurrence,  the  entire  number  of  metacarpal  bones,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  joint,  which  is  called  the  knee  of  the 
dog,  towards  the  foot  of  the  animal. 

The  bones,  however,  most  commonly  fractured  are  the 
ulna  and  radius  in  the  fore-limb,  and  the  tibia  and  fibula 
in  the  posterior  extremity.  Next  to  these  in  order  are 
the  femur  or  thigh-bone,  in  the  hind-leg,  and  the  humerus 
or  arm-bone  of  the  anterior  limb.  Then  come  the  four 
metacarpal  or  metatarsal  bones,  being  the  same  in  num- 
ber in  both  legs.  These  are  all  the  author  undertakes  to 
treat.  The  first  and  last  he  manages  pretty  successfully. 
For  the  restoration  of  a  fracture,  all  that  is  necessary  is 
to  bring  the  ends  which  have  been  divided  together,  and 
to  keep  them  in  the  place  into  which  your  art  has  brought 
them.  To  accomplish  this  end,  the  author  is  accustomed 
to  cut  from  a  sheet  of  stout  gutta  percha  three  broad 
straight  ribbons  ;  then  to  soak  these  in  warm  water  till 
they  are  pliable,  having  first  cut  in  them  several  holes 
resembling  button-holes,  by  the  aid  of  a  punch  and  nar- 
row chisel.  When  they  have  lain  in  the  warm  water  a 
sufficient  time  to  soften,  and  no  more — for  the  water  of 
too  great  a  heat  shrivels  up  as  well  as  softens  the  gutta 
percha — he  draws  forth  one  ribbon,  and  this  he  moulds  to 
the  front  of  the  sound  leg. 

That  done,  he  takes  another  piece  of  the  gutta  percha, 
and  this  he  models  to  the  hind  part  of  the  sound  leg. 


DOGS'.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT,  447 

The  remaining  slip  is  fixed  to  the  side  of  the  limb.  After 
the  pliable  gutta  percha  has  been  forced  to  assume  the 
shape  desired,  it  is  the  practice  of  the  writer  to  cover  it 
with  a  cloth  saturated  in  cold  spring  water,  to  hasten  the 
setting  of  the  material,  and  thereby  shorten  a  process 
which  always  renders  the  dog  somewhat  uneasy.  All 
this  accomplished,  he  next  braces  the  splints  together, 
and  fixes  them  upon  the  limb,  by  means  of  a  long  piece 
of  tape  ;  putting  under  them,  next  to  the  skin  of  the 
animal,  a  quantity  of  lint  to  prevent  the  gutta  percha 
from  irritating  the  flesh.  The  tapes  he  also  runs  through 
the  holes  previously  made,  and  winds  about  the  limb,  or 
over  the  splints — rather,  but  not  too  tightly  in  the  first 
instance— with  the  intent  of  arousing  the  restorative 
amount  of  inflammation.  This  quantity  of  inflammation, 
the  reader  may  imagine,  would  be  certain  to  ensue  on  so 
violent  an  injury  as  the  separation  of  the  hard  supports 
of  the  body ;  but  in  this  he  is  mistaken.  I  have  known 
a  favorite  hound  to  break  at  once  the  four  metatarsal 
bones,  and  though  the  splints  necessary  to  promote  a 
union  were  kept  on  above  two  months,  nothing  of  the 
kind  took  place ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  all  bandages 
were  removed,  and  his  movements  effected  the  cure 
which  my  appliances  were  unable  to  bring  about.  Some 
persons  even  advocate  taking  off  all  bandages  from  a 
broken  leg,  and  sending  the  dog  for  a  walk,  where  union 
is  tardy ;  but  people  who  use  such  language  talk  about 
that,  concerning  which  they  literally  know  nothing.  It 
is  not  one  walk  which  will  produce  the  desired  effect ;  but 


448  DOGS  :    THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

repeated  walks  are  required  to  accomplish  what  appears 
to  the  ignorant  so  certain  to  occur.  Thus,  to  do  nothing 
is  far  better  in  some  cases  than  to  perform  much ;  since 
the  absence  of  remedies  accomplishes  that  which  all  the 
paraphernalia  of  the  surgery  is  unable  to  produce. 

There  are  cases,  however,  which  cannot  get  well  of 
themselves,  unless  deformity  be  esteemed  of  no  conse- 
quence. Thus,  when  the  radius  and  ulna  are  snapped 
right  across,  and  the  foot,  deprived  of  all  support,  dan- 
gles at  the  end  of  the  limb  ;  here  the  interposition  of 
surgical  agency  is  absolutely  required  ;  for  the  fracture, 
if  left  to  itself  without  the  aid  of  art,  would  never  assume 
its  proper  situation.  So  when  the  humerus  or  femur  are 
fractured,  the  bones  may  unite  of  themselves  ;  but  in  that 
case  shortening  of  the  limb  and  incurable  lameness  is  cer- 
tain to  ensue.  The  practitioner  aims  not  only  to  bring 
the  separated  ends  of  the  bone  together  ;  but  he  endea- 
vors, by  the  invention  of  various  means,  to  keep  them 
there,  or  to  force  the  limb  all  the  time  of  the  cure  to  be 
and  to  remain  at  its  fullest  length.  To  prevent  the  ten- 
dency to  contract  in  the  limb,  and  consequently  to  short- 
en, is  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  which  we  have  to  con- 
tend with  in  the  treatment  of  fractures.  When  a  bone  is 
broken,  the  muscles  which  hold  the  parts  together  sooner 
or  later  contract,  and  sometimes  with  such  force  as  to 
draw  the  ends  of  the  bone,  which  were  once  continuous, 
side  by  side ;  thus  rendering  the  limb  shorter  than  it  was 
previously.  This  force  is  generally  exerted  immediately 
on  the  occurrence  of  the  accident ;  but  in  some  petted 


DOGS  I     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  449 

animals  where  the  system  is  slow,  it  does  not  take  place 
till  some  indefinite  period  has  elapsed.  Fortunate  is  the 
gentleman  who  is  called  on  to  treat  a  case  before  any- 
thing of  the  kind  has  occurred,  as  his  difficulties  will 
thereby  be  at  first  materially  lessened ;  but  when  put- 
ting on  the  splints,  he  must  be  careful  that  they  are 
strong  enough  and  his  tapes  tight  enough  to  keep  the 
leg  extended,  or  to  resist  the  power  which  sooner  or 
later  he  may  rest  assured  will  start  up. 

The  bandages  and  splints  having  been  on  some  time — 
the  precise  period  of  which  cannot  be  estimated, — the  leg 
will  swell,  especially  the  foot,  and  the  tapes  become  so 
tight  as  to  cut  into  the  flesh.  The  practitioner  pays  lit- 
tle attention  to  the  primary  indication  of  swelling  being 
about  to  take  place  ;  but  when  it  has  fairly  set  in,  and 
threatens  to  do  injury  to  the  limb,  he  with  caution  loosens 
the  tapes,  thus  permitting  the  blood  freely  to  circulate. 

The  after-treatment  of  a  fracture  is  comparatively 
easy.  It  consists  merely  in  keeping  the  bowels  open, 
attending  to  the  general  health,  and  in  renewing  the 
splints  and  bandages  as  often  as  may  be  necessary. 

It  is  well  to  bathe  the  fractured  limb,  splints  and  all, 
in  the  following  lotions  : — 

LOTION  FOR  THE    LEG  BEFORE  THE   SWELLING   HAS  COMMENCED. 

Tinct.  arnic.  mont.     .     .     .     One  drachm. 

Aqua  font One  ounce. 

Ess.  limon A  sufficiency 

To  be  applied  frequently. 


450        DOGS:  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

LOTION   TO    BE    USED   WHEN   SWELLING   IS   PRESENT. 

Tinct.  aconit. Half-a-scruple. 

Aqua  font. One  ounce. 

Ess.  anis A  sufficiency. 

LOTION  TO  BE  APPLIED  AFTER  THE  SWELLING  HAS  SUBSIDED. 

Zinchi  chlor.     ....     One  grain. 

Aqua  font One  ounce. 

Ess.  anis. A  sufficiency. 

The  other  measures   are  dictated   entirely  by  circum- 
stances. 

OPERATIONS. 

THERE  are  very  few  of  such  offices  to  be  performed  on 
the  dog.  Among  those,  however,  which  do  occur,  is  the 
removal  of  the  toe.  When  a  claw  has  grown  completely 
round,  and  by  being  pressed  into  the  flesh  appears,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  practitioner,  to  have  provoked  such 
injury  as  decidedly  and  imperatively  requires  the  remo- 
val of  the  part  affected,  then  the  amputation  of  one  toe 
may  be  undertaken.  When  the  dog,  to  allay  the  itching 
of  the  extremities,  gnaws  or  eats  his  own  flesh  from  the 
toes,  leaving  black  and  ragged  bones  protruding,  ampu- 
tation is  necessary.  The  member  must  in  each  case  be 
amputated  higher  up  than  the  injury.  There  is  no  abso- 
lute necessity  to  muzzle  the  dog,  provided  the  master  is 
present,  and  will  undertake  the  charge  of  the  head. 
When  such  has  been  the  case,  and  the  master  has 
engaged  to  keep  the  attention  of  the  dog  fixed  upon 
himself,  I  have  removed  a  joint  or  two  from  the  leg  with- 


DOGS  I    THEIR   MANAGEMENT.  451 

Out  the  animal  uttering  a  single  cry ;  although  the  mas- 
ter, unused  to  such  sights,  has  been  seized  with  sickness 
so  as  to  require  spirits  for  his  restoration.  The  master 
being  at  the  head,  or  an  assistant  on  whom  you  can 
depend  being  at  that  post ;  another  placed  to  keep  down 
the  body ;  and  a  third  to  lay  hold  of  and  extend  the 
limb  to  be  operated  upon,  which  must  be  uppermost ;  the 
animal  should  be  thrown  on  one  side.  There  it  must  be 
allowed  to  remain  until  sufficient  time  has  elapsed  to 
calm  its  natural  fears. 

The  operator  then  takes  one  of  Listen's  sharp-pointed 
knives,  and  thrusts  it  quite  through  the  flesh,  a  short  dis- 
tance above  the  injury ;  he  then  with  a  sawing  motion 
cuts  downward  and  outward  till  the  knife  is  released. 
He  next  impales  the  member  on  the  other  side,  keeping 
the  back  of  the  knife,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  as  close 
to  the  bone  as  possible,  and  draws  it  forth  in  the  same 
manner.  He  thus  will  have  two  flaps  divided  by  a  small 
notch,  which  coincides  with  the  breadth  of  the  bone. 
Through  this  notch,  on  the  uppermost  side,  he  must  pass 
his  knife,  cutting  upwards  and  inwards ;  thus  upon  both 
sides,  till  the  lines  made  by  the  knife  meet  in  a  point. 
He  will  then,  supposing  the  business  to  have  been  pro- 
perly performed,  see  a  bright  pink  living  piece  of  bone 
in  the  centre ;  and  to  cut  off  so  much,  or  even  a  little 
more  than  is  visible,  becomes  his  next  object.  For  this 
purpose  a  saw,  however  fine,  is  tedious ;  because  the 
bone  to  be  cut  through  is  not  of  sufficient  body  to  allow 
the  operator  to  put  forth  his  strength,  and  on  that  account 


452  DOGS  :    THEIR    MANAGEMENT. 

also    does   not  leave  behind  it  a  smooth  surface.     The 
bone-nippers  answer  better.    Without  loss  of  time,  there- 
fore, the  veterinary  surgeon  seizes  a  pair  suited  to  the 
object  in  view,  and  with  these  he  gently  pushes  back  the 
flesh  on  all  sides  ;  he  then,  suddenly  closing  the  handles, 
cuts  short  the  protruding   bone      The  flaps   that   have 
been  made  are  then  brought  together,  when,  if  there  is 
any  bleeding,  the  raw  surfaces  are  again  exposed,  and  a 
few  puffs  with  a  pair  of  bellows,  first  having  sprinkled 
the  part  with  cold  water,  usually  stop  it.     If  that  should 
not  succeed,  a  small  quantity  of  the  tincture  of  ergot  of 
rye    suflices  for  the   purpose ;    and  all  bleeding  having 
ceased,  the  flaps  are  finally  placed  together,  bound  up  in 
soft  lint,  and  a  leather  or  gutta  percha  boot  placed  over 
all,  no  dressing  being  applied  or  the  boot  removed  for 
three  days.     When   the  wound  is  inspected,  if,  as  fre- 
quently happens,  the   movements  of  the  dog  have  dis- 
turbed the  flaps,  provided  they  are  not  drawn  too  uneven, 
the  practitioner  had  better  not  touch  them.    The  rectify- 
ing powers  of  nature  in  such  cases  are  wonderful ;  and  in 
those  he  had  better  trust  rather  than  interfere  with  the 
process  of  healing,  which    he   may  remain  certain  has 
already  commenced.     In  this  fashion  I  have  excised  a 
dog's  claw  ;  and  three  months  after  the  operation  a  spec- 
tator would  have   to  compare  one  foot  with  another  to 
discover  that  either  was  deficient  in  the  proper  number 
of  appendages. 

CAPPED   HOCK  AND   ELBOW. — The   first  of  these   is 
more  rare  than  the  last  j  but  as,  on  the  point  of  the  bone 


DOGS  *.     THEIR    MANAGEMENT.  453 

in  each  joint,  is  situated  a  bursa  or  small  sac,  containing 
an  unctuous  fluid  intended  to  facilitate  the  movement  of 
the  bone  under  the  skin,  they  both  are  subject  to  injury ; 
when  they  swell  to  an  enormous  size,  and  constitute  a 
very  unsightly  deformity.  If  seen  early,  so  soon  as  the 
tenderness  has  subsided,  an  ounce  of  lard  may  be  mixed 
with  a  drachm  of  the  iodide  of  lead,  and  the  part  well 
and  frequently  rubbed  with  the  ointment.  If  in  spite  of 
the  use  of  this  ointment,  which  more  often  fails  than  suc- 
ceeds, the  tumor  grows  larger  and  larger,  recourse  must 
be  had  to  an  operation ;  else  the  disfigurement  may  ul  i- 
mately  become  sufficiently  great  and  hard  to  seriously 
impede  the  animal's  movements. 

An  operation  being  determined  on,  the  animal  is  best 
left  standing  ;  though,  should  it  prove  unruly,  assistance 
sufficient  to  lift  it  on  to  a  table,  and  thereon  to  lay  it  on 
its  side,  must  be  at  hand.  Everything  being  ready,  and 
the  dog  in  this  case  properly  muzzled,  the  operator,  with 
such  a  knife  as  he  can  work  quickest  with,  makes  an  in- 
cision the  entire  length  of  the  swelling,  and  even  rather 
longer  than  shorter  :  he  next  reflects  back  both  portions 
of  skin,  that  is,  the  skin  on  either  side  of  the  swelling ; 
and  lastly,  separates  the  enlargement  from  its  base. 

This  removal  will  leave  a  huge,  ugly,  gaping  wound, 
with  a  seeming  superabundance  of  skin  hanging  from 
its  side.  Let  him  on  no  account  remove  a  particle  of 
that  skin,  however  much  more  than  is  necessary  pro- 
perly to  cover  the  wound  there  may  immediately  after 
the  operation  seem  to  be.  Inflammation  will,  with  the 


454  DOGS  :     THEIR   MANAGEMENT. 

beginning  of  the  healing  process,  set  in,  and  the  action 
of  this  inflammation  contracts  the  hanging  skin  ;  so  that 
if  a  portion  be  removed,  there  will  remain  an  open 
wound  to  that  extent ;  and  as  skin  is  slowly  reproduced, 
the  cure  may  be  retarded  for  months. 

The  first  part  of  the  business  being  well  concluded, 
the  dog  must  remain  muzzled,  and  be  returned  to  its 
proprietor  with  a  bottle  of  healing  fluid,  the  sore  which 
has  been  made  being  left  uncovered.  The  healing  fluid 
is  to  be  used  frequently  ;  and  if  the  case  be  a  good  one, 
the  orifice  quickly  becomes  small,  and  heals.  In  some 
animals,  however,  there  is  a  disposition  to  gnaw  or  lick 
the  part  ;  thus  undoing  everything  the  veterinary  sur- 
geon has  been  accomplishing.  To  check  this  habit,  a 
cradle  round  the  neck  ;  wide  collars  which  prevent  the 
head  from  being  turned  round  ;  and  various  splints  which, 
by  keeping  the  limb  extended,  thereby  hinder  the  animal 
from  touching  the  wound,  are  employed.  Any  or  all  of 
these,  in  untoward  cases,  may  be  necessary ;-  and  in  very 
high-bred  animals  the  Jiealing  powers  of  nature  are  fre- 
quently slow,  consequently  in  such  the  after-consequences 
of  an  operation  are  likely  to  prove  very  annoying. 


DOG  BREAKING: 

THE  MOST 

EXPEDITIOUS,  EASY,   AND   CERTAIN 

METHOD, 

WHETHER  GREAT  EXCELLENCE  OR  ONLY  MEDIOOBITY 
BE  REQUIRED. 


COL  W.  S.  HUTCHINSON, 

GRENADIER    GUARDS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L— 463. 

PRELIMINARY   OBSERVATIONS.       QUALIFICATIONS,    IN    BREAKER — IN   DOG. 

1.  Dog-Breaking  an  Art  easily  acquired. — 2.  Most  expeditious  mode 
of  imparting  every  Degree  of  Education.  Time  bestowed  deter- 
mines Grade  of  Education.  In  note,  Col.  Hawker's  opinion. — 3. 
Sportsmen  recommended  to  break  in  their  own  Dogs. — 1.  Men  of 
property  too  easily  satisfied  with  badly-broken  Dogs.  Keepers 
have  no  excuse  for  Dogs  being  badly  broken. — 5.  Great  Experi- 
ence in  Dog-breaking,  or  Excellence  in  Shooting,  not  necessary. 
Dispositions  of  Dogs  vary. — 6  What  is  required  in  an  instructor. 
7.  Early  in  a  Season,  any  Dog  will  answer,  a  good  one  necessary 
afterwards.  Hallooing,  rating  Dogs,  and  loud  whistling  spoils 
Sport. — 8.  What  a  well-broken  Dog  ought  to  do. — 9.  Severity  re- 
probated.— 10.  Astley's  Method  of  teaching  his  Horses. — 11.  Initia- 
tory Lessons  recommended — to  be  given  when  alone  with  Dog — 
given  fasting. — 12.  Success  promised  if  rules  be  followed.  Advan- 
tages of  an  expeditious  Education.  Autumn  shooting  not  sacri- 
ficed. 

CHAPTER  EL— 470. 

INITIATORY   LESSONS   WITHIN    DOORS.       8HOOITNG   PONIES. 

13.  One  Instructor  better  than  two. — 14.  Age  at  which  Education 
commences.  In-door  breaking  for  hours,  better  than  Out-door 
breaking  for  weeks. — 15.  To  obey  all  necessary  AVords  of  Com- 
mand, and  all  Signals,  before  shown  Game. — 16.  Unreasonable- 
ness of  not  always  giving  Initiatory  Lessons — leads  to  Punishment 
— thence  to  Blinking.  17.  Dog  to  be  your  constant  Companion, 
not  another's. — 18,  19,  20.  Instruct  when  alone  with  him.  Initia- 
tory Lessons  in  his  Whistle — in  "Dead" — "Toho" — "On." — 21. 
All  Commands  and  Whistling  to  be  given  in  a  low  tone. — 22  to 
25.  Lessons  in  "  Drop." — Head  between  fore-legs — Setters  crouch 
more  than  Pointers. — 23.  Slovenly  to  employ  right  Arm  both  for 
"Drop "and  "Toho." — 27.  Lessons  in  "Down-charge," — Taught 
at  Pigeon-match — Rewards  taken  from  Hand — 27.  Cavalry 
Horses  fed  at  discharge  of  Pistol — Same  plan  pursued  with  Dogs. 
—28.  Dog  unusually  Timid  to  be  coupled  to  another. — 29.  Lea* 
tons  at  Feeding  Time,  with  Checkcords 


458  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  HI.— 480. 

INITIATOR!    LESSONS   CONTINUED.       SPANIELS. 

80,31.  Initiatory  Lessons  in  "Dead  "and  "Seek,"  continued. — 32. 
In  Signals  to  hunt  to  the  "  right " — "  left " — "  forward." — 33.  In 
the  "  Beckon."  Woodcock  Shooting  in  America.  34.  In  looking 
to  you  for  instructions. — 35.  In  "  Care." — 36.  Always  give  a 
reward. — 37.  In  "Up" — saves  using  Puzzle-peg. — 38.  Dog  to 
carry  Nose  high. — 39.  Initiatory  Lesson  in  "  Footing  "  a  scent." — 
40.  In  "Heel." — 41.  In  "Gone"  or  "Away." — 12.  In  "Fence"  or 
"  Ware-fence." — 43.  "No"  a  better  word  than  "  Ware. "—44.  Ac- 
customed to  couples. — 45.  Initiatory  Lesson  in-doors  with  a  Com- 
panion— when  one  "  drops,"  the  other  to  "  drop." — 46.  Makes 
"  Backing  "  quickly  understood. — 47.  Initiatory  Lessons  with  a 
Companion  in  the  Fields. — 48.  Initiatory  Lessons  save  time — 
make  Dogs  fond  of  Hunting. — 49.  Checkcord  described.  Wildest 
Dogs  possess  most  energy. — 50.  Advantages  of  Checkcord  ex- 
plained. Spaniels  broken  m  by  it. — 51.  Lad  to  act  as  Whipper-in. 
52.  Retriever  that  acted  as  Whipper-in. — 53.  Jealousy  made  him 
act  the  part.  Might  be  taught  to  Retrieve. — 54.  Instead  of 
"  down  charge,"  coming  to  "  heel." — 55.  As  Puppies  kept  close  to 
you,  not  to  "self-hunt" — "broke"  from  hare. — 56.  Blacksmith 
straps  Horse's  Leg  above  Hock — Dog's  similarly  confined — Shot- 
belt  round  the  necks  of  wildest. — 57.  Hunted  in  Gorse. — 58.  Age 
when  shown  Game.  Example  of  good  Spaniels  advantageous. — 
69.  Perfected  in  "  Drop  " — taught  to  "  seek  dead" — to  "  fetch" — 
entered  at  Hedge-rows  and  lightest  Covers.  Bells  to  Collars. — 
60.  To  hunt  farther  side  of  Hedge. — 61.  How  Sportsmen  may  aid 
Keeper. — 62.  Experienced  Spaniels  slacken  pace  on  Game. — 63. 
Difficult  to  work  young  ones  in  Silence. — 64.  Spaniels  that  Point- 
ed.— 65.  Game  first  accustomed  to,  most  liked. — 66.  Principal  re- 
quisites in  Spaniels. — 67.  The  signal  "  to  point  with  finger." — 68. 
Following  Cockers  a  Young  Man's  work. — 69.  Education  differs 
in  different  Teams. — 70.  One  and  a  half  couple  of  large  Spaniels 
sufficient.  One  of  the  Team  to  retrieve  . — 71.  Clumbers  procuring 
more  shots  in  Turnips  than  Pointers. — 72.  Lord  P— — n's  highly- 
broken  Team. — 73.  Of  small  Cockers  three  couple  a  Team.  What 
constitutes  Perfection.— 74.  Retriever  with  Team.  Duke  of  New- 
castle's Keepers. — 75.  Some  Teams  allowed  to  hunt  flick. — 76. 
Markers  necessary  with  wild  Spaniels. — 77.  Old  Sportsmen  prefer 
mute  Spaniels. — 78.  Handy  old  Setters  capital  in  light  cover.  At- 
tention necessary  when  first  entered. — 79.  C e's  Pointers  as  good 

in  cover  as  on  the  stubble. — 80.  Pointer  that  ran  to  opposite  side 
of  Thicket  to  flush  Game  towards  Gun. — 81.  Water  Spaniels,  how 
broken. — 82.  Shepherd's  Forward  Signal  best  for  Water  Retrievers. 
83.  Wild  Fowl  reconnoitred  with  Telescope. — 84.  Qualities  re- 
quired in  Water  Retriever.  In  Note,  Poachers  in  Snow.  Beast 
or  Man  of  one  uniform  color  easily  detected. — 85.  Steady  Spaniela 
in  Rice  Lakes. 


CONTENTS.  45& 

CHAPTER  IV.— 510. 

LESSONS   IN    "  FETCHING."      RETEIEVERS. 

86.  Lessons  in  "  fetching  "  recommended.  Dog,  not  taught  to  re- 
trieve, bringing  dead  Bird  he  had  found. — 87.  Taught  to  deliver 
into  your  hand ;  never  pick  up  a  Bird  yourself;  Dog  which  often 
lost  winged  Birds  she  had  lifted. — 88.  Retrievers  taught  to  carry 
something  soft ;  injudiciousness  of  employing  a  stone. — 89.  How 
encouraged  to  plunge  into  Water. — 90.  Diving,  how  taught. — 91. 
"  Fetching  "  taught  with  a  Pincushion  ;  with  a  Bunch  of  Keys. — 
92.  Made  to  deliver  instantly. — 93.  Practised  to  carry  things  of 
the  size  and  weight  of  a  Hare. — 94.  "  Fetching,"  how  taught  at 
commencement. — 95.  Regular  Retrievers  taught  to  fetch  Birds; 
to  "foot"  Rabbits  and  Winged  Game. — 96.  Retriever  observes 
when  a  Bird  is  struck ;  a  quality  particularly  useful  in  a  Water 
Retriever. — 97.  Pigeons  and  small  Birds  shot  to  Retrievers. — 98. 
Injudiciousness  of  aiding  a  young  Dog  when  retrieving ;  makes 
him  rely  on  Gun  rather  than  his  own  Nose. — 99.  Fatigue  of  car- 
rying Hare  tempts  young  Retriever  to  drop  it ;  taught  to  deliver 
quickly  by  rewards  of  hard  boiled  liver. — 100.  If  he  taste  blood, 
put  on  Wire  snaffle ;  how  made. — 101.  Retriever  how  taught  to 
pursue  faster ;  should  commence  to  "  road  "  slowly,  but  "  follow 
up  "  rapidly. — 102.  Why  Land  Retrievers  should  "  down  charge. 
103.  Some  Retrievers  may  "  run  on  shot/'  but  those  for  sale  should 
"  down  charge." — 104.  Retrievers  not  to  be  of  a  heavy  build,  yet 
strong  and  thick-coated. — 105.  Cross  between  Newfoundland  and 
Setter  makes  best  Retriever ;  the  real  Newfoundland  described. — 
106.  Cross  from  heavy  Setter  best  Retriever. — 107.  Most  Dogs 
can  be  taught  more  or  less  to  Retrieve. — 108.  Young  Retriever  to 
lift  Woodcock  and  Landrail — 109.  Retrievers  never  to  kill  Rate, 
lift  vermin,  or  wounded  Heron,  <fec. 


CHAPTER  V.— 527. 

INITIATORY   LESSONS   OUT   OF   DOORS.      TRICKS. 

10.  Lessons  in  Country  Walks. — 111.  "Instruction  in  quartering;'* 
hunted  where  least  likely  to  find  Game ;  taught  while  young.  In 
Note,  Bitch  shot  over  when  seven  months  old. — If  unreasonably 
long  before  taking  to  hunting,  the  remedy. — 1 13.  Utility  of  Initi- 
atory Lessons;  taught  without  punishing. — 114.  Self-confidence 
of  timid  Dogs'  increased. — 115.  The  more  Dogs  learn,  the  more 
readily  they  learn. — 116.  Two  superior  Dogs  better  than  half-a- 
dozen  of  the  ordinary  sort ;  Action  of  Dogs  ;  their  Feet ;  Loins  ; 
dash  of  Foxhound  gives  endurance ;  cross  with  Bull  hunts  with 
nose  too  low  ;  Reliefs  desirable  ;  best  Dog  reserved  for  evening  — 
117.  Memorandum,  never  to  ride  through  gate  with  gun  athwart- 
ship ;  instance  of  Dog's  behaving  admirably  the  first  day  shown 
Game. — 118.  Proves  the  value  of  Initiatory  Lessons. — 119.  Sum 


460  CONTENTS. 


mary  of  knowledge  imparted  by  them. — 120.  Why  to  signal  with 
right  hand. — 1 21.  One  word  only  of  command ;  dogs  attend  to  the 
general  Sound,  not  to  the  several  Words — 122  Names  of  Dogs 
not  to  end  in  "0;"  to  be  easily  called:  to  be  dissimilar. — 123. 
"  Drop"  better  word  of  command  than  "Down;"  use  words  of 
command  least  likely  to  be  employed  by  others ;  when  purchasing 
a  Dog  ascertain  what  words  he  is  accustomed  to. 


CHAPTER  VI— 537. 

FIRST   LESSON    IN   AUTUMN   COMMENCED.       RANGING. 

124.  Regular  Breakers  make  Dogs  "point"  paired  Birds  in  Spring, 
tends  to  Blinking. — 125.  Better  not  to  see  Game  until  shot  over; 
taken  out  alone  on  a  fine  day  in  Autumn, — 126.  Perpetually 
whistling  to  animate  Dogs,  injudicious. — 127.  Beat  largest  fields, 
and  where  least  likely  to  find  Game. — 128.  Commence  from 
leeward;  scent  bad  in  a  calm  or  gale. — 129  to  133.  Instructions 
in  "  ranging." — 1 34  Kept  from  hedge  ;  Range  greater  on  moors 
than  stubble. — 135.  Distance  between  Parallels  dependent  on  ten- 
derness of  nose. — 136.  If  the  Dog  is  to  hunt  with  another,  the 
Parallels  to  be  farther  apart. — 137.  No  interruption  when  winding 
Birds,  yet  not  allowed  to  puzzle  ;  Nose  to  gain  Experience. — 138. 
Birds  lie  well  to  Dog  that  "  winds,"  not  "  foots"  them. — 139.  Inat- 
tentive to  Whistle,  made  to  "  drop,"  (fee. ;  when  rating  or  punish- 
ing, the  disregarded  order  or  signal  to  be  often  repeated ;  Whip 
to  crack  loudly.  The  attainment  of  a  scientific  Range  difficult, 
but  of  surpassing  value ;  the  best  ranger  must  in  the  end  find  most 
Game. 


CHAPTER  VII.  —  549. 

FIRST    LESSON   IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.       CAUTION. 

140.  Dog  to  be  hunted  alone  — 141.  Many  Breakers  exactly  reverse 
this. — 142.  Turnips,  Potatoes,  <fec.,  avoided;  Range  of  dogs  broken 
on  moors  most  true.— 143.  In  Turnips,  (fee.,  young  Dogs  get  too 
close  to  Birds. — 144.  Cautious  Dogs  may  with  advantage  be  as 
fast  as  wild  ones;  the  two  contrasted.  In  Note,  injudiciousness 
of  teaching  a  Puppy  to  "  point"  Chickens. — 145,  6. — A  Dog's  nose 
cannot  be  improved,  but  his  caution  can,  which  is  nearly  tanta- 
mount; how  effected. — 147.  How  to  make  fast  Dogs  cautious. — 
148,  149.  The  cause  why  wild  Dogs  ultimately  turn  out  best. — 
150.  The  day's  Beat  commenced  from  the  leeward. — 151.  Won- 
derful Dogs,  which  find  Game  without  hunting — 152.  Reason 
why  Dogs  should  be  instructed  separately,  and  allowed  Time  to 
work  out  a  scent ;  young  Dogs  generally  too  much  hurried. 


%  CONTENTS.  461 

CHAPTER  VIII.— 556. 

FIRST    LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.        CUNNING    OF    AGE — RANGE    OF 
FROM    TWO    TO    SIX.    DOGS. 

153.  Your  Dog  not  to  "break  fence;"  how  taught;  Birds  often 
sprung  while  you  are  scrambling  over  hedge. — 154.  Turning  one's 
back  upon  a  Dog  to  bring  him  away;  stooping  down,  &Q.,  to 
make  him  hunt  close. — 155.  Dog,  when  fatigued,  not  to  be  hunted ; 
leads  to  false  points. — 156.  Sent  home,  brushed,  and  allowed  a 
warm  berth;  not  to  follow  all  day  at  "heel" — 157  to  159.  Beat 
of  two  Dogs,  how  regulated. — 160.  Whatever  number  hunted,  all 
should  look  to  the  Gun  for  orders. — 161.  Mr.  Herbert's  opinion  in 
his  "Field  Sports  in  United  States."— 1 62,  163.  Beat  of  three 
Dogs.— 164.  Of  four  Dogs.— 166  to  167.  Of  five  or  six  Dogs.— 168. 
Great  precision  impracticable,  but  the  necessity  of  a  system  main- 
tained ;  System  particularly  essential  where  Game  is  scarce  ; 
Dogs  to  be  brigaded,  not  to  be  employed  as  a  pack. — 169.  When 
each  keeper  hunts  a  brace. — 170.  A  brigade  of  fine  rangers  worth 
from  fifty  to  sixty  guineas  a  brace. — 171.  Fastest  walkers  do  not 
necessarily  beat  most  country. — 172.  Nor  do  always  the  fastest 
Dogs. — 173.  How  slow  Dogs  may  hunt  more  ground  than  faster. 


CHAPTER   IX.— 565 

FIRST     LESSON     IN     AUTUMN     CONTINUED.         "  POINT  "    NOT    RELINQUISHED 
FOR     "  DOWN     CHARGE." 

174.  Affection  makes  Dog  anxious  to  please — when  he  rushes  in  to 
be  dragged  back.— 175.  Rule  pressed. — 176.  Reasons  for  Rule — 
Experience  anticipated. — 177.  To  "stand  "  far  off. — 178.  Patienc*- 
enjoined — Not  to  part  as  enemies. — 179.  The  first  good  point — 
Remain  yourself  stationary. — 180.  "Heading "Dog — Your  circle 
to  be  wide.  The  first  Bird  killed.— 181.  Finding  dead  Bird,  it 
being  to  leeward. —182.  Pointing  it — Blinking  it.  The  cause. — 
183.  Bird  killed,  the  Dog  to  go  to  "heel." — 184.  Supposed  objec- 
tion— 184.  Answered. — 185.  Temptation  to  run  after  fallen  Bird 
greater  than  to  run  to  "  heel." — 186  Dog  pointing  one  Bird,  and 
after  "  down  charge,"  springing  the  others.  The  cause.  187.  The 
preventive.  Dog  never  to  discontinue  his  point  in  order  tc 
"  down  charge."  How  taught. — 188.  Its  advantages  exemplified. 
— 189.  Decide  whether  Dog  goes  direct  to  Bird,  or  first  to  you. — 
190.  Dog  which  performed  well — Snipe  shooting  on  banks  of 
Richelieu. — 191.  Coolness  recommended — Inconsistency  depre- 
cated. 

CHAPTER  X.— 579. 

FIRST  LESSON   IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.       ASSISTANT 

1 92.  Some  Dogs  will  not  point  readily.     Breeding  in  and  in.  error 


462  CONTENTS.  * 

of. — 193.  Dogs  more  inclined  to  point  at  first  than  afterwards — 
194.  Checkcord  employed — spike  attached  to  it. — 195.  With  wild 
Dog  assistant  useful — Signals  to. — 196.  How  particularly  useful 
with  a  badly-broken  Dog. — 197.  "Heading"  Dog  at  his  point — 
not  practised  too  often — Dog  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  his  dis- 
tance from  Game. — 198.  Constantly  "Heading"  Dog  may  make 
him  too  immovable. — 199.  A  fault  often  caused  by  over-punish- 
ment.— 200.  False  points  caused  by  over-punishment — Self-confi- 
dence and  experience  only  cures  for  over-caution. — 201.  Dog's 
manner  shows  position  of  Birds. 


CHAPTER  XL— 585. 

FIRST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  CONCLUDED.       BAR.      LEG   STRAP.      SPIKE    COLLAR. 

202.  Bar  cure  for  too  high  spirits.  A  leg  strapped  up.  Why  these 
remedies  are  better  than  starvation  and  excessive  work. — 203.  The 
regular  Spike  Collar  described.  French  Spike  Collar. — 204.  One 
less  objectionable. — 205  to  208.  How,  in  extreme  cases,  the  Spike 
Collar  may  be  employed. — 209.  Dog  springing  Birds  without  no- 
ticing them ;  how  to  be  treated. — 210.  The  first  Birds  fired  at  to 
be  killed  outright;  the  search  for  winged  Birds,  Dog  being  to 
leeward. — 211.  Had  the  Dog  seized.  Firing  at  running  Bird. — 
212.  The  search  for  winged  Bird,  Dog  being  to  windward. — 213. 
"Lifting"  a  Dog,  when  recommended.  "Footing"  a  scent.  In 
Note,  Speed  of  Red-legged  Partridge. — 214.  Evil  of  a  young 
Sportsman  always  thinking  his  Birds  killed  outright ;  often  calls 
away  Dog  improperly. — 216.  Loss  of  dead  Bird  discouraging  to 
Dog  — 216.  Perseverance  in  seeking,  how  fostered  — 217.  "  Nosing  " 
Bird  allowed. — 218.  Error  of  picking  up  winged  Bird  before  load- 
ing. In  Note,  Ingenious  argument  in  its  favor ;  Bird  picked  up 
in  the  evening;  rejoins  covey. — 219.  If  a  winged  Bird  be  a  fast 
runner,  and  out  of  shot. — 220.  If  Dog  rushes  forward,  yet  yields  to 
menaces  and  stops. — 221.  If  he  seizes  the  dead  Bird;  if  he  has 
torn  it. — How  to  administer  Punishment. — 222.  Part  good  friends. 
Your  own  temper  not  to  be  ruffled. — 224.  He  is  no  Breaker  who 
cannot  always  get  hold  of  Dog. — 225.  Be  certain  of  Dog's  guilt 
before  punishing. — 226.  Dog's  ears  not  to  be  pulled  violently. — 
227.  To  "drop"  whenever  Bird  or  Hare  rises. — 228.  Lesson  in 
Turnips. — 229.  Real  Lesson  in  "  Gone  "  or  "  Flown  "  given  after 
Dog  has  had  some  experience ;  reason  why. 


CHAPTER  XII.— 604. 

SHOOTING   HARES.       COURAGE    IMPARTED.       "  BACKING  "   TAUGHT.  j 

280.  Shooting  Hares  not  recommended  ;  shooting  Rabbits  strongly 
condemned.  In  Note,  why  superior  Grouse-Dog  better  than 
superior  Partridge-Dog.  Dog  brought  from  strange  country 


CONTENTS.  46S 

always  hunts  to  disadvantage. — 231.  Put  off  killing  Hares  as  long 
as  possible. — 232.  Dogs  not  to  quit  faint  scent  of  Birds  for  strong 
scent  of  Hare. — 233.  Dog  after  Hare  ;  no  racing  after  Dog ;  Puss 
gone  down  wind. — 234.  Checkcord  employed.  Drive  in  spike  on 
"  toho-ing  "  Hare. — 235.  Impropriety  of  firing  at  Dog. — 236. 
Hares  scarce,  visit  Rabbit-warren. — 237.  Morning,  hunt  where  no 
Hares  ;  evening,  where  plentiful.  Mountain  Hares. — 238.  Killing 
Hare  in  its  form. — 239.  Shooting  Bird  on  ground. — 240.  Dog 
taught  to  pursue  wounded  Hare. — 241.  Whip  carried,  saves  punish- 
ment. Detention  of  Dog  at  crouching  posture,  saves  Whip. — 242. 
Few  cuts,  but  severe  ones. — 243.  Instance  of  timidity  cured. 
Range  imparted  by  giving  Dog  feet  of  Partridge. — 244.  Punish- 
ment, not  defective  Nose,  causes  Blinking. — 245.  Courage  im- 
parted to  timid  Dogs. — 246.  Dogs  expect  Punishment  for  faults ; 
vexed  when  Birds  are  not  fired  at. — 24-7.  What  Dog  select  to  teach 
yours  to  "Back. — 248.  Example  has  great  influence. — 249. 
"Backing"  old  Dog, — 250.  "Finder"  to  "road"  to  a  "rise;"  his 
intrusive  companion  described. — 25 1  To  "  back"  by  Eye,  not  Nose. 
— 252.  Encourage  old  Dog  before  rating  the  other. — 253.  "  Find- 
er "  not  to  advance,  even  if  passed  by  other  Dog. — 254.  The 
"Backer"  should  "  down  charge." — 255.  Dog  when  pointing  ne- 
ver to  "  down  charge ;"  how  taught. 


CHAPTER  XIIL— 619. 

HINTS   TO    PURCHASERS.       SHEEP   KILLING. 

256.  The  "back"  being  taught,  young  Dog  again  hunted  alone. — 
— 257.  Breakers  hunt  too  many  together.  Why  injudicious. — 
258.  One  hour's  instruction  alone,  better  than  a  day's  in  company. 
— 259.  Case  in  point. — 260.  Rushing  in  to  "  dead,"  how  cured. — 
261.  Dogs  shot  over  "  single-handed."  Jealousy  decreases  with 
intimacy.  Independence  and  self-reliance,  how  imparted.— 262. 
Best  Dogs ;  summary  of  rules  for  making,  concisely  given.  The 
best  will  make  mistakes. — 263.  Dog  that  always  ran  riot  when 
out  of  sight. — 264.  Killing  sheep;  cure  attempted. — 265.  Ano- 
ther plan. — 266,  267.  Third  attempt  at  remedy. — 267.  Muzzle  Dog 
likely  to  worry  Sheep. — 268.  Killing  Fowls ;  the  cure. 


CHAPTER  XIV.— 628. 

DISTINGUISHING  WHISTLES.  "  BACKING "  THE  GUN.  RETREAT  FROM  AND 
RESUMPTION  OF  POINT.  RANGE  UNACCOMPANIED  BY  GUN.  HEADING 
RUNNING  BIRDS. 

271.  A  distinguishing  whistle  for  each  Dog ;  disadvantage  of  em- 
ploying but  one  whistle  for  several  Dogs;  supposed  case. — 272. 
Another  case. — 273.  Third  case. — 274.  Dissimilar  whistles,  or  dis- 
tinct notes  on  one  whistle. — 275.  General  rule  for  whistling  — 


404  CONTENTS. 

276.  Dog  to  back  the  Gun  ;    how   taught ;   it  creates  caution 

277.  Advantage  of  Dog  backing  the  Gun. — 278.  American  Wood- 
Duck. — 279.  Dog  to  retreat  from  point  and  resume  it — 280.  How 
taught. — 281.   Shows  Dog  object  for  which  he  is  hunted. — 282. 
Not  taught  too  early. — 283.  Dog's  consciousness  of  its  object. — 
284.  Dog  to  hunt  from  leeward  to  windward,  unaccompanied  by 
Gun ;   how   taught. — 285.  A  careful  Dog   running   down  wind 
would    not   spring  Birds. — '286.  The   great   advantages   of    the 
accomplishment. — 287.    Dog  to  head  running  Birds  ;    could  be 
taught. — 288.  How   Dog   taught  to  hunt    "  unaccompanied   by 
Gun," — 289.  The  accomplishment  taught  by  "lifting;"  not  com- 
menced first  season. — 290.  Could  be  taught  as  easily  as  Shep- 
herds' collies  are  instructed. — 291.  Particularly  useful  where  the 
red-legged  Partridge  is  found. 


CHAPTER  XV.— 638. 

BETTER  TO  RETRIEVE.      BLOODHOUNDS.     RETRIEVERS  TO  "  BEAT."     WOUNDED 
WILD  FOWL  RETRIEVED  FIRST. 

292.  Setter  to  retrieve ;  obtain  thereby  in  one  Dog  the  services  of 
two ;  necessity  of  having  some  Dog  that  retrieves. — 293.  Predi- 
lection for  Setters  confessed  ;  Reasons  given. — 294.  One  Dog  only 
to  retrieve. — 295.  Let  "  retrieving  "  be  done  by  "  Finder." — 296. 
Seeking  Dead  with  two  Dogs ;  Winged  Bird  searched  for  in  direc- 
tion of  covey's  flight. — 297.  Scent  differs  of  wounded  and  un- 
wounded  Birds. — 298.  Three  dead  Snipe  lifted  in  succession  ; 
Setter  that  stood  fresh  Birds  while  carrying  a  dead  one ;  Pointer 
that  pointed  Partridge  while  carrying  a  Hare ;  Retriever  re- 
fusing to  relinquish  chase  of  wounded  Hare. — 299.  Injudiciousness 
of  retrieving  Setter  pointing  dead. — 300.  Argument  against  em- 
ploying retrieving  Setters  holds  against  using  regular  Retrievers. 
— 301.  Regular  Retrievers  to  beat;  its  advantages;  one  Dog  does 
the  duty  of  two. — 302.  Water  Retrievers,  or  Water  Spaniels,  to 
retrieve  crippled  before  picking  up  dead  Wild  Fowl ;  how  taught. 
— 303.  None  of  these  accomplishments  so  difficult  to  teach  as  a 
good  range. — 304.  Might  be  taught  by  your  Gamekeeper,  but 
not  to  be  expected  of  regular  Breaker. 


DOG-BREAKING- 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY  OBSERVATIONS.     QUALIFICATIONS,  IN  BREAK- 
ER— IN    DOG. 

1.  DOG-BREAKING,  so  far  from  there  being  any  mys- 
tery in  it,  is  an  art  easily  acquired  when  it  is  commenced 
and  continued  on  rational  principles. 

2.  I  think  you  will  be  convinced  of  this  if  you  will 
have  the  patience  to  follow  me,  whilst  I  endeavor  to 
explain  what,  I  am  satisfied,  is  the  most  certain  and 
rapid  method  of  breaking  in  your  dogs,  whether  you 
require  great  proficiency  in  them,  or  are  contented  with 
an  inferior  education.     No  quicker  system  has  yet  been 
devised,  however  humble  the  education  may  be.     The 
education  in  fact  of  the  peasant,  and  that  of  the  future 
double-first  collegian,  begin  and  proceed  on  the  same 
principle.     You  know  your  own  circumstances,  and  you 
must  yourself  determine  what  time  you  choose  to  devote 
to  them ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  degree  of  excel- 
lence to  which  you  aspire.     I  can  only  assure  you  of  my 
firm  conviction,  that  no  other  means  will  enable  you  to 


464  DOG-BKEAKING. 

gain  your  object  so  quickly,  and  I  speak  with  a  confi- 
dence derived  from  long  experience  in  many  parts  of 
the  world,  on  a  subject  that  was,  for  several  years,  my 
great  hobby.* 

3.  Every  writer  is  presumed  to  take  some  interest  in 
his  reader ;  I  therefore  feel  privileged  to  address  you 
as  a  friend,  and  will  commence  my  lecture  by  strongly 
recommending,  that,  if  yotfr  occupations  will  allow  it, 
you  .take  earnestly  and  heartily  to  educating  your  dogs 
yourself.     If  you  possess  temper  and  some  judgment, 
and  will  implicitly  attend  to  my  advice,  I  will  go  bail 
for  your  success,  and,   much   as   you  may  now  love 
shooting,  you  will  then  like  it  infinitely  more.     Try  the 
plan  I  recommend,   and  I  will    guarantee    that    the 
Pointer  or  Setter  Pup  which  I  will,  for  example  sake, 
suppose  to  be  now  in  your  kennel,  shah1  be  a  better  dog 
by  the  end  of  next  season — I  mean  a  more  killing  dog — 
than  probably  any  you  ever  yet  shot  over. 

4.  Possibly  you  will  urge,   that   you   are  unable  to 
spare  the  time  which  I  consider  necessary  for  giving 
him  a  high  education — brief  as  that  time  is,  compared 

*  It  may  be  satisfactory  to  others  to  know  the  opinion  of  so  un- 
deniable an  authority  as  Colonel  Hawker.  The  Colonel,  in  the 
Tenth  Edition  of  his  invaluable  Book  on  Shooting,  writes — page  285 
— "  Since  the  publication  of  the  last  edition,  Lieut.-Col.  Hutchin- 
son's  valuable  work  on  '  Dog-breaking '  has  appeared.  It  is  a  per- 
fect vade  mecum  for  both  Sportsmen  and  Keeper,  and  I  have  great 
pleasure  in  giving  a  cordial  welcome  to  a  work  which  so  ably  sup- 
plies my  own  deficiencies  " 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS.  405 

with  the  many,  many  months  wasted  in  the  tedious 
methods  usually  employed — and  that  you  must,  perforce, 
content  yourself  with  humbler  qualifications.  Be  it  so. 
I  can  only  condole  with  you,  for  in  your  case  this  may 
be  partly  true  ;  mind,  I  only  say  partly  true.  But  how 
a  man  of  property,  who  keeps  a  regular  gamekeeper, 
can  be  satisfied  with  the  disorderly,  disobedient  troop 
to  which  he  often  shoots,  I  cannot  understand.  Where 
the  gamekeeper  is  permitted  to  accompany  his  master 
in  the  field,  and  hunt  the  dogs  himself,  there  can  be  no 
valid  excuse  for  the  deficiency  in  their  education.  The 
deficiency  must  arise  either  from  the  incapacity,  or  from 
the  idleness  of  the  keeper. 

5.  Unlike  most  other  arts,  dog-breaking  does  not 
require  much  experience  ;  but  such  a  knowledge  of 
dogs,  as  will  enable  you  to  discriminate  between  their 
different  tempers  and  dispositions,  I  had  almost  said 
characters — and  they  vary  greatly — is  very  advanta- 
geous. Some  require  constant  encouragement;  some 
you  must  never  beat  ;  whilst,  to  gain  the  required 
ascendancy  over  others,  the  whip  must  be  occasionally 
employed.  ISTor  is  it  necessary  that  the  instructor 
should  be  a  very  good  shot ;  which  probably  is  a  more 
fortunate  circumstance  for  me  than  for  you.  It  should 
even  be  received  as  a  principle  that  birds  ought  to  be 
now  and  then  missed  to  young  dogs,  lest  some  day,  if 
your  nerves  happen  to  be  out  of  order,  or  a  cock- 
ney companion  be  harmlessly  blazing  away,  your 
dog  take  it  into  his  head  and  heels  to  run  home  in  dis 


466  DOG-BREAKING. 

gust,  as  I  have  seen  a  bitch,  called  Countess,  do  more 
than  once,  in  Haddingtonshire. 

6.  The   chief  requisites  in   a   breaker  are : — Firstly, 
command  of  temper,  that  he  may  never  be  betrayed 
into  giving   one  unnecessary  blow,  for  with  dogs,  as 
with  horses,  no  work  is  so  well  done  as  that  which  is 
done  cheerfully ;  secondly,  consistency,  that  in  the  ex- 
hilaration of  his  spirits,  or  in  his  eagerness  to  secure  a 
bird,  he  may  not  permit  a  fault  to  pass  unreproved,  I 
do  not  say  unpunished,  which  at  a  less  exciting  moment 
he  would  have  noticed — and  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  may  not  correct  a  dog  the  more  harshly  because  the 
shot  has  been  missed,  or  the  game  lost ;  and  lastly,  the 
exercise  of  a  little  reflection,  to  enable  him  to  judge 
what  meaning  an  unreasonable  animal  is  likely  to  attach 
to  every  word  and  sign,  nay  to  every  look. 

7.  With  the  coarsest  tackle,   and  worst  flies,  trout 
can  be  taken  in  unflogged  waters,  while  it  requires  much 
science,  and  the  finest  gut,  to  kill  persecuted  fish.     It  is 
the  same  in  shooting.     With  almost  any  sporting-dog 
game  can  be  killed  early  in  the  season,  when  the  birds 
lie  like  stones,  and  the  dog  can  get  within  a  few  yards 
of  them ;  but  you  will  require  one  highly  broken  to 
obtain  many  shots  when  they  are  wild.     Then  any  in- 
cautious  approach  of  the  dog,  or  any  noise,  would  flush 
the  game,  and  your  own  experience  will  tell  you  that 
nothing  so  soon  puts  birds  on  the  run,  and  makes  them 
so  ready  to   take   flight,  as  the   sound   of  the   human 
voice,  especially  now-a-days,    when   farmers    general Iv 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS.  467 

prefer  the  scythe  to  the  sickle,  and  clean  husbandry, 
large  fields,  and  trim  narrow  hedges — affording  no 
shelter  from  wet — have  forced  the  partridge — a  short- 
winged*  bird — unwillingly  to  seek  protection,  when 
arrived  at  maturity,  in  ready  flight  rather  than  in  con- 
cealment. Even  the  report  of  a  gun  does  not  so  much 
alarm  them  as  the  command,  "  Toho,"  or  "  Down 
charge,"  usually  too,  as  if  to  make  matters  worse,  hal- 
looed to  the  extent  of  the  breaker's  lungs.  There  are 
anglers  who  recommend  silence  as  conducive  to  success, 
and  there  are  no  experienced  sportsmen  who  do  not 
acknowledge  its  great  value  in  shooting.  Rate  or  beat 
a  dog  at  one  end  of  a  field,  and  the  birds  at  the  other 
will  lift  their  heads,  become  uneasy,  and  be  ready  to 
take  wing  the  moment  you  get  near  them.  "  Penn,"  in 
his  clever  maxims  on  Angling  and  Chess,  observes  to 
this  effect,  "  if  you  wish  to  see  the  fish,  do  not  let  him 
see  you  ;"  and  with  respect  to  shooting,  we  may  as  truly 
say,  "  if  you  wish  birds  to  hear  your  gun,  do  not  let 
them  hear  your  voice."  Even  a  loud  whistle  disturbs 

them.     Mr.    O 1   of  C e   says   a  gamekeeper's 

motto  ought  to  be, — "  No  whistling — no  whipping — no 
noise,  when  master  goes  out  for  sport." 

8.  These  observations  lead  unavoidably  to  the  infer- 

*  The  American  Quail  so  closely  resembles  the  English  partridge 
in  all  its  habits,  except  that  it  takes  to  covert  in  large  woodlands, 
and  occasionally  trees,  that  all  the  rules  of  hunting  and  beating  for 
it,  shooting  it,  and  breaking  dogs  for  its  pursuit,  are  entirely  identi 
tal.— IT.  W  H. 


468  DOG-BREAKIXG. 

ence,  that  no  dog  can  be  considered  perfectly  broken,  that 
does  not  make  his  point  when  first  he  feels  assured  oi 
the  presence  of  game,  and  remain  stationary  ichere  he 
makes  it,  until  urged  on  by  you  to  draw  nearer — that 
does  not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  lie  down  without  any 
word  of  command  the  moment  you  have  fired,  and  after- 
wards perseveringly  seek  for  the  dead  bird  in  the  direction 
you  may  point  out — and  all  this  without  your  once 
having  occasion  to  speak,  more  than  to  say  in  a  low 
voice,  "  Find,"  when  he  gets  near  the  dead  bird,  as  will 
be  hereafter  explained.  Moreover,  it  must  be  obvious 
that  he  risks  leaving  game  behind  him  if  he  does  not 
hunt  every  part  of  a  field,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
he  wastes  your  time  and  his  strength,  if  he  travels  twice 
over  the  same  ground,  nay,  over  any  ground  which  his 
powers  of  scent  have  already  reached.  Of  course  I  am 
now  speaking  of  a  dog  hunted  without  a  companion  to 
share  his  labors. 

0.  You  may  say,  "  How  is  all  this,  which  sounds  so 
well  in  theory,  to  be  obtained  in  practice  without  great 
severity  ?  "  Believe  me,  with  severity  it  never  can  be 
attained.  If  flogging  would  make  a  dog  perfect,  few 
would  be  found  unbroken  in  England  or  Scotland,  and 
scarcely  one  in  Ireland. 

10.  Astley's  method  was  to  give  each  horse  his  pre- 
paratory lessons  alone,  and  when  there  was  no  noise  or 
anything  to  divert  his  attention  from  his  instructor.  If 
the  horse  was  interrupted  during  the  lesson,  or  his  at- 
tention in  any  way  withdrawn,  he  was  dismissed  for  that 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS.  469 

day.  When  perfect  in  certain  lessons  by  himself,  he  was 
associated  with  other  horses  whose  education  was  furthei 
advanced.  And  it  was  the  practice  of  that  great  master 
to  reward  his  horses  with  slices  of  carrot  or  apple  when 
they  performed  well. 

11.  Astley  may  give  us  a  useful  hint  in  our  far  easier 
task  of  dog-breaking.     We  see  that  he  endeavored  by 
kindness  and  patience  to  make  the  horse  thoroughly  com- 
prehend the  meaning  of  certain  words  and  signals  before 
he  allowed  him  any  companion.     So  ought  you,  by  what 
may  be  termed   "  initiatory  lessons,"  to    make    your 
young  dog  perfectly  understand  the  meaning  of  certain 
words  and  signs  before  you  hunt  him  in  the  company 
of  another  dog — nay,  before  you  hunt  him  at  ah1 ;  and, 
in  pursuance  of  Astley's  plan,  you  ought  to  give  these 
lessons  when  you  are  alone  with  the  dog,  and  his  atten- 
tion is  not  likely  to  be  withdrawn  to  other  matters. 
Give  them,  also,  when  he  is  fasting,  as  his  faculties  will 
then  be  clearer,  and  he  will  be  more  eager  to  obtain  any 
rewards  of  biscuit  or  other  food. 

12.  Be  assured  that  by  a  consistent  adherence  to  the 
simple  rules  which  I  will  explain,  you  can  obtain  the 
perfection  I  have  described,  8,  with  more  ease  and  ex- 
pedition than  you  probably  imagine  to  be  practicable ; 
and,  if  you  will  zealously  follow  my  advice,  I  promise, 
that,  instead  of  having  to  give  up  your  shooting  in  Sep- 
tember— for  I  am  supposing  you  to  be  in  England — 
while  you  break  in  your  pup,  you  shall  then  be  able  to 
take  him  into  the  field,  provided  he  is  tolerably  well  bred 


470  DOG-BREAKIXG. 

and  well  disposed,  perfectly  obedient ;  and,  except  that 
he  will  not  have  a  well-confirmed,  judicious  range,  almost 
perfectly  made ;  at  least  so  far  made,  that  he  will  only 
commit  such  faults  as  naturally  arise  from  want  of  expe- 
rience. Let  me  remind  you  also  that  the  keep  of  dogs 
is  expensive,  and  supplies  an  argument  for  making  them 
earn  their  bread  by  hunting  to  a  useful  purpose  so  soon 
as  they  are  of  an  age  to  work  without  injury  to  their 
constitution.  Time,  moreover,  is  valuable  to  us  all,  or 
most  of  us  fancy  it  is.  Surely,  then,  that  system  of 
education  is  best  which  imparts  the  most  expeditiously 
the  required  degree  of  knowledge. 


CHAPTER  n. 

INITIATORY  LESSONS  WITHIN    DOORS.      SHOOTING  PONIES. 

13.  IT  is  seldom  of  any  advantage  to  a  dog  to  have 
more  than  one  instructor.      The  methods  of  teaching 
may  be  the  same  ;  but  there  will  be  a  difference  in  the 
tone  of  voice  and  in  the  manner  that  will  more  or  less 
puzzle  the  learner,  and  retard  rather  than  advance  his 
education.     If,  therefore,  you  resolve  to  break  in  your 
dog,  do  it  entirely  yourself;  let  no  one  interfere  with  you. 

14.  As  a  general  rule,  let  his  education  begin  when  he 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    WITHIN    BOOKS.  471 

is  about  six  or  seven  months  old* — although  I  allow  t  hat 
some  dogs  are  more  precocious  than  others,  and  bitches 
always  more  forward  than  dogs — but  it  ought  to  be  nearly 
completed  before  he  is  shown  a  bird  (111).  A  quarter 
of  an  hour's  daily  in-door  training — called  by  the  Ger- 
mans "  house-breaking  " — for  three  or  four  weeks  will 
effect  more  than  a  month's  constant  hunting  without 
preliminary  tuition. 

15.  Never  take  your  young  dog  out  of  doors  for  in- 
struction, until  he  has  learnt  to  know  and  obey  the  several 
words  of  command  which  you  intend  to  give  him  in  the 
field,  and  is  well  acquainted  with  all  the  signs  which  you 
will  have  occasion  to  make  to  him  with  your  arms.   These 
are  what  may  be  called  the  initiatory  lessons. 

16.  Think  a  moment,  and  you  will  see  the  importance 
of  this  preliminary  instruction,  though  rarely  imparted. 
Why  should  it  be  imagined  that  at  the  precise  moment 
when  a  young  dog  is  enraptured  with  the  first  sniff  of 
game,  he  is,  by  some  mysterious  unaccountable  instinct, 
to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  Toho  ?"    Why 
should  he  not  conceive  it  to  be  a  word  of  encouragement 

*  But  from  his  very  infancy  you  ought  not  to  have  allowed  him 
to  be  disobedient.  You  should  have  made  him  know — which  he 
will  do  nearly  intuitively — that  a  whip  can  punish  him,  though  he 
ought  never  to  have  suffered  from  it.  I  have  heard  of  pups  only 
four  months  old  being  made  quite  au  fait  to  the  preliminary  drill 
here  recommended.  This  early  exercise  of  their  intelligence  and 
observation  must  have  benefited  them.  The  questionable  point  \» 
the  unnecessary  consumption  of  the  instructor's  time. 


472  DOG-BREAKING. 

to  rush  in  upon  the  game,  as  he  probably  longs  to  do  ; 
especially  if  it  is  a  partridge  fluttering  before  him,  in  tha 
sagacious  endeavor  to  lure  him  from  her  brood,  or  a 
hare  enticingly  cantering  off  from  under  his  nose  ?  There 
are  breakers  who  would  correct  him  for  not  intuitively 
comprehending  and  obeying  the  "Toho,"  roared  out 
with  stentorian  lungs ;  though,  it  is  obvious,  the  young- 
ster, from  having  had  no  previous  instruction,  could  have 
no  better  reason  for  understanding  its  import  than  the 
watch-dog  chained  up  in  the  adjacent  farm-yard.  Again 
he  hears  the  word  "  Toho  " — again  followed  by  anothei 
licking,  accompanied  perhaps  by  the  long  lecture,  "  Ware 
springing  birds,  will  you  ?"  The  word  "  Toho  "  then 
begins  to  assume  a  most  awful  character ;  he  naturally 
connects  it  with  the  finding  of  game,  and  not  under- 
standing a  syllable  of  the  lecture,  lest  he  should  a  third 
time  hear  it,  and  get  a  third  drubbing,  he  judges  it  most 
prudent,  unless  he  is  a  dog  of  very  high  courage,  when 
next  aware  of  the  presence  of  birds,  to  come  in  to  heel ; 
and  thus  he  commences  to  be  a  blinker,  thanks  to  the 
sagacity  and  intelligence  of  his  tutor.  I  do  not  speak 
of  all  professional  dog-breakers, — far  from  it.  Many  are 
fully  sensible  that  comprehension  of  orders  must  neces- 
sarily precede  all  but  accidental  obedience.  I  am  only 
thinking  of  some  whom  it  has  been  my  misfortune  to 
see,  and  who  have  many  a  time  made  my  blood  boil  at 
their  brutal  usage  of  a  fine  high-couraged  young  dog. 
Men  who  had  a  strong  arm  and  hard  heart  to  punish — 
but  no  temper  and  no  head  to  instruct. 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    WITHIN   DOOES.  473 

17.  So  long  as  you  are  a  bachelor,  you  can  make  a 
companion  of  your  dog,  without  incurring  the  danger 
of  his  being  spoilt  by  your  wife  and  children ;  the  more, 
by-the-bye,  he  is  your  own  companion  and  nobody  else's 
the  better :  and  it  is  a  fact,  though  you  may  smile  at  the 
assertion,  that  all  the  initiatory  lessons  can  be,  and  can 
best  be  inculcated  in  your  own  breakfast-room. 

18.  Follow  Astley's  plan.     Let  no  one  be  present  to 
distract  the  dog's  attention.     Call  him  to  you  by  the 
whistle  you  propose  always  using  in  the  field.     Tie  a 
slight  cord  a  few  yards  long  to  his  collar.     Throw  him  a 
small  piece  of  toast  or  meat,  saying  at  the  time,  "  Dead, 
dead."     Do  this  several  times,  chucking  it  into  different 
parts  of  the  room,  and  let  him  eat  what  he  finds.     Then 
throw  a  piece,  always  as  you  do  so  saying,  "  Dead,"  and 
the  moment  he  gets  close  to  it,  check  him  by  jerking 
the  cord,  at  the  same  time  saying,  "Toho,"  and  lifting 
up  your  right  arm  almost  perpendicularly.     By  pressing 
on  the  cord  with  your  foot,  you  can  restrain  him  as  long 
as  you  please.    Do  not  let  him  take  what  you  have  thrown 
until  you  give  him  the  encouraging  word,  "  On,"  accom- 
panied by  a  forward  movement  of  the  right  arm  and 
hand,  somewhat  similar  to  the  swing  of  an  under-hand 
feowler  at  cricket. 

19.  Let  all  your  commands  be  given  in  a  low  voice. 
Consider  that  in  the  field,  where  you  are  anxious  not  to . 
alarm  the  birds  unnecessarily,  your  words  must  reach 
your  dogs'  ears  more  or  less  softened  by  distance,  and, 
if  their  influence  depends  on  loudness,  they  will  have  the 


474  DOG-BKEAKING. 

least  effect  at  the  very  moment  when  you  wish  them  to 
have  the  most.  For  the  same  reason,  in  the  initiatory 
lessons,  be  careful  not  to  whistle  loudly. 

20.  After  a  few  trials  with  the  checkcord,  you  will 
find  yourself  enabled,  without  touching  it,  and  merely 
by  using  the  word  "  Toho,"  to  prevent  his  seizing  the 
toast  or  meat,  until  you  say  "  On,"  or  give  him  the  for- 
ward signal.     When  he  gets  yet  more  perfect  in  his 
lesson,  raising  your  right  arm  only,  without  employing 
your  voice,  will  be  sufficient,  especially  if  you  have  gra- 
dually accustomed  him  to  hear  you  speak  less  and  less 
loudly.     If  he  draw  towards  the  bread  before  he  has 
obtained  leave,  jerk  the  cord,  and  drag  him  back  to  the 
spot  from  which  he  stirred.     He  is  not  to  quit  it  until 
you  order  him,  occupy  yourself  as  you  may.     Move 
about,  and  occasionally  go  from  him,  as  far  as  you  can, 
before  you  give  the  command  "  On."     This  will  make 
him  less  unwilling  hereafter  to  continue  steady  at  his 
point  while  you  are  taking  a  circuit  to  head  him,  and  so 
get  wild  birds  between  him  and  your  gun, — 179,  196. 
The  signal  for  his  advancing,  when  you  are  facing  him,  is 
the  "  beckon  " — see  33. 

21.  At  odd  times  let  him  take  the  bread  the  moment 
you  throw  it,  that  his  eagerness  to  rush  forward  to  seize 
it  may  be  continued,  only  to  be  instantly  restrained  at 
your  command. 

22.  Your  left  arm  raised  perpendicularly,  in  a  similar 
manner,  should  make  the  young  dog  lie  down.     Call  out 
"  Drop,"  when  so  holding  up  the  left  hand,  and  press 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    WITHIN    DOORS.  475 

him  down  with  the  other  until  he  assumes  a  crouching 
position.  If  you  study  beauty  of  attitude,  his  fore-legs 
should  be  extended  and  his  head  rest  between  them. 
Make  him  lie  well  down,  occasionally  walking  round  and 
round  him,  gradually  increasing  the  size  of  the  circle — 
your  eyes  on  his.  Do  not  let  him  raise  himself  to  a  sit- 
ting posture.  If  you  do,  he  will  have  the  greater  incli- 
nation hereafter  to  move  about:  especially  when  you 
want  to  catch  him  in  order  to  chide  or  correct  him.  A 
stop  is  all  you  require  for  the  "  Toho,"  and  you 
would  prefer  his  standing  to  his  point,  rather  than  his 
lying  down,*  as  you  then  would  run  less  risk  of  losing 
sight  of  him  in  cover,  heather,  or  high  turnips,  &c. 
Setters,  however,  naturally  crouch  so  much  more  than 
Pointers,  that  you  will  often  not  be  able  to  prevent 
their  "  falling  "  when  they  are  close  to  game.  Indeed, 
I  have  heard  some  sportsmen  argue  in  favor  of  a  dog's 
dropping,  "  that  it  rested  him."  An  advantage,  in  my 
opinion,  in  no  way  commensurate  with  the  inconvenience 
that  often  attends  the  practice. 

23.  If  you  are  satisfied  with  teaching  him  in  a  slovenly 
manner,  you  can  employ  your  right  arm  both  for  the 
"  Toho  "  and  "  Drop  ; "  but  that  is  not  quite  correct,  for 
the  former  is  a  natural  stop — being  the  pause  to  deter- 

*  This  is  one  reason  for  giving  initiatory  lessons  in  the  "  Toho " 
before  the  "Drop."  Another  is  that  the  dog  may  acquire  the 
"  Toho "  before  he  has  run  the  chance  of  being  cowed  in  learning 
the  "  Drop."  If  the  latter  were  taught  first,  he  might  confound 
the  "  Toho  "  with  it. 


476  DOG-BREAKING. 

mine  exactly  where  the  game  is  lying,  preparatory  to 
rushing  in  to  seize  it — which  you  prolong  by  art,*  whilst 
the  other  is  wholly  opposed  to  nature.  The  one  affords 
him  great  delight,  especially  when,  from  experience,  he 
has  learnt  well  its  object :  the  latter  is  always  irksome. 
Nevertheless,  it  must  be  firmly  established.  It  is  the 
triumph  of  your  art.  It  ensures  future  obedience.  But 
it  cannot  be  effectually  taught  without  creating  more  or 
less  awe,  and  it  should  create  awe.  It  is  obvious,  there- 
fore, that  it  must  be  advantageous  to  make  a  distinction 
between  the  two  signals — especially  with  a  timid  dog — 
for  he  will  not  then  be  so  likely  to  blink  on  seeing  you 
raise  your  right  hand  when  he  is  drawing  upon  game. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  breakers  so  unreasonable  as  not 
only  to  make  that  one  signal,  but  the  one  word  "  Drop," 
or  rather  "  Down,"  answer  both  for  the  order  to  point, 
and  the  order  to  crouch  !  How  can  such  tuition  serve 
to  enlarge  a  dog's  ideas  ? 

24.  To  perfect  him  in  the  "  Down,"  that  difficult  part 
of  his  education, — difficult,  because  it  is  unnatural, — 
practise  it  in  your  walks.  At  very  uncertain,  unexpect- 
ed times  catch  his  eye,  having  previously  stealthily  taken 
hold  of  the  checkcord — a  long,  light  one,  or  a  whistle 
to  call  his  attention,  and  then  hold  up  your  left  arm.  If 
he  does  not  instantly  drop,  jerk  the  checkcord  violently, 

*  I  know  of  a  young  man's  reading  the  first  edition  of  this  book, 
and  taking  it  into  his  head  to  teach  his  Terrier  to  point  according 
to  the  method  just  recommended.  He  succeeded  perfectly.  Some 
Terriers  have  been  made  very  useful  for  cover  shooting. 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    WITHIN   DOORS.  477 

and,  as  before,  drag  him  back  to  the  exact  spot  where 
he  should  have  crouched  down.  Admit  of  no  compro- 
mise. You  must  have  implicit,  unhesitating,  instant 
obedience.  When  you  quit  him,  he  must  not  be  al- 
lowed to  crawl  an  inch  after  you.  If  he  attempt  it, 
drive  a  spike  into  the  ground,  and  attach  the  end  of  the 
checkcord  to  it,  allowing  the  line  to  be  slack  ;  then  leave 
him  quickly,  and  on  his  running  after  you  he  will  be 
brought  up  with  a  sudden  jerk.  So  much  the  better ;  it 
will  slightly  alarm  him.  As  before,  take  him  back  to 
the  precise  place  he  quitted — do  this  invariably,  though 
he  may  have  scarcely  moved.  There  make  him  again 
"  Drop  " — always  observing  to  jerk  the  cord  at  the  mo- 
ment you  give  the  command.  After  a  few  trials  of  this 
tethering,  say  less  than  a  dozen,  he  will  be  certain  to  lie 
down  steadily,  until  you  give  the  proper  order  or  a  sig- 
nal— 20— let  you  run  away,  or  do  what  you  may  to  excite 
him  to  move.  One  great  advantage  of  frequently  re- 
peating this  lesson,  and  thus  teaching  it  thoroughly,  is 
that  your  dog  will  hereafter  always  feel,  more  or  less, 
in  subjection  whenever  the  cord  is  fastened  to  his  collar. 
He  must  be  brought  to  instantly  obey  the  signal,  even 
at  the  extreme  limit  of  his  beat. 

25.  Most  probably  he  will  not  at  first  rise  when  he  is 
desired.  There  is  no  harm  in  that — a  due  sense  of  th<j 
inutility  of  non-compliance  with  the  order  of  "  Drop," 
and  a  wholesome  dread  of  the  attendant  penalty,  will  be 
advantageous.  Go  up  to  him— pat  him — and  lead  him 
for  some  paces,  "making  much  of  him,"  as  they  say  in 


478  DOG-liltEAKING. 

the  cavalry.  Dogs  which  are  over-headstrong  and  reso- 
lute can  only  be  brought  under  satisfactory  command  by 
this  lesson  being  indelibly  implanted — and  I  think  a 
master  before  he  allows  the  keeper  to  take  a  pup  into 
the  field  to  show  him  game,  should  insist  upon  having 
ocular  demonstration  that  he  is  perfect  in  the  "  Drop." 

26.  When  he  is  well  confirmed  in  this  all-important 
lesson,  obeying  implicitly,  yet  cheerfully,  you  may,  whilst 
he  is  lying  down — in   order  to  teach  him  the  "  down 
charge  " — go  through  the  motions  of  loading,  on  no  ac- 
count permitting  him  to  stir  until  you  give  him  the  for- 
ward signal,  or  say,  "  On."     After  a  few  times  you  may 
fire  off"  a  copper  cap,  and  then  a  little  powder,  but  be 
very  careful  not  to  alarm  him.     Until  your  dog  is  quite 
reconciled  to  the  report  of  a  gun,  never  take  him  up  to 
any  one  who  may  be  firing.    I  have,  however,  known  of 
puppies  being  familiarized  to  the  sound,  by  being  at 
first  kept  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  party  firing, 
and  then  gradually  and  by  slow  degrees  brought  nearer. 
This  can  easily  be  managed  at  a  rifle  or  pigeon  match, 
and  the  companionship  of  a  made-dog  would  much  ex- 
pedite matters.     Whenever,  in  the  lessons,  your  young 
dog  has  behaved  steadily  and  well,  give  him  a  reward. 
Do  not  throw  it  to  him  :  let  him  take  it  from  your  hands. 
It  will  assist   in  making   him   tender-mouthed,  and   in 
attaching  him  to  you. 

27.  In  some  cavalry  regiments  in  India,  the  feeding- 
time  is  denoted  by  the  firing  off  of  a  pistol.     This  soon 
changes  a  young  horse's  first  dread  of  the  report  into 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    WITHIN    DOO11S.  479 

eager,  joyous  expectation.  You  might,  if  you  did  not 
dislike  the  trouble,  in  a  similar  manner,  soon  make  your 
pup  regard  the  report  of  a  gun  as  the  gratifying  sum- 
mons to  his  dinner,  but  coupled  with  the  understanding 
that,  as  a  preliminary  step,  he  is  to  crouch  the  instant  he 
hears  the  sound.  After  a  little  perseverance  you  would 
so  well  succeed,  that  you  would  not  be  obliged  even  to 
raise  your  hand.  If  habituated  to  wait  patiently  at  the 
"  drop,"  however  hungry  he  may  be,  before  he  is  per- 
mitted to  taste  his  food,  it  is  reasonable  to  think  he  will 
remain  at  the  "  down  charge,"  yet  more  patiently  be- 
fore he  is  allowed  to  "  seek  dead." 

28.  If  your  pupil  is  unusually  timid,  and  you  cannot 
banish  his  alarm  on  hearing  the   gun,   couple   him  to 
another  dog  which  has  no  such  foolish  fears,  and  will 
steadily  "  down  charge."     The  confidence  of  the  one 
will  impart  confidence  to  the  other.     Fear  and  joy  are 
feelings  yet  more  contagious  in  animals  than  in  man.     It 
is  the  visible,  joyous  animation  of  the  old  horses,  that  so 
quickly  reconciles  the  cavalry  colt  to  the  sound  of  the 
"  feeding-pistol." 

29.  A  keeper  who  had  several  dogs  to  break,  would 
find   the   advantage  of  pursuing  the  cavalry  plan  just 
noticed.      Indeed,  he  might  extend  it  still  further,  by 
having  his  principal  in-door  drill  at  feeding-time,  and  by 
enforcing,  but  in  minuter  details,  that  kennel  discipline 
which  has  brought  many  a  pack  of  hounds  to  marvellous 
obedience.     He  should  place  the  food  in  different  parts 
of  the  yard.     He  should  have  a  short  checkcord  on  all 


480  DOO-BREAKIXG. 

his  pupils ;  and,  after  going  slowly  through  the  motions 
of  loading  (the  dogs  having  regularly  "  down-charged  " 
on  the  report  of  the  gun),  he  should  call  each  separately 
by  name,  and  by  signals  of  the  hand  send  them  succes- 
sively to  different,  but  designated  feeding-troughs.*  He 
might  then  call  a  dog  to  him  which  had  commenced 
eating,  and  after  a  short  abstinence,  make  him  go  to 
another  trough.  He  might  bring  two  to  his  heels  and 
make  them  change  troughs,  and  so  vary  the  lesson,  that, 
in  a  short  time,  with  the  aid  of  the  checkcords,  he 
would  have  them  under  such  complete  command  that  they 
would  afterwards  give  him  comparatively  but  little  trou- 
ble in  the  field.  As  they  became  more  and  more  submis- 
sive he  would  gradually  retire  further  and  further,  so  as,  at 
length,  to  have  his  orders  obeyed  when  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  his  pupils.  The  small  portion  of  time  these 
lessons  would  occupy  compared  with  their  valuable  results 
should  warn  him  most  forcibly  not  to  neglect  them. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INITIATORY   LESSONS   CONTINUED.      SPANIELS. 

30.  WHEN  your  young  dog  is  tolerably  well  advanced 
in  the  lessons  which  you  have  been  advised  to  practise, 

*  There  is  often  such  a  similarity  in  the  names  of  hounds,  that  a 
person  cannot  but  be  much  struck,  who  for  the  first  time  sees  them 
go  to  their  meals,  one  by  one  as  they  are  called.  ^ 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  481 

hide  a  piece  of  bread  or  biscuit.  Say  "  Dead,  dead." 
Call  him  to  you.  (40.)  Let  him  remain  by  you  for 
nearly  a  minute  or  two.  Then  say  "  Find,"  or  "  Seek/ 
Accompany  him  in  his  search.  By  your  actions  ana 
gestures  make  him  fancy  you  are  yourself  looking  about 
for  something,  for  dogs  ai\>  observing,  one  might  say, 
imitative,  creatures.*  Stoop  and  move  your  right  hand 
to  and  fro  near  the  ground.  Contrive  that  he  shall 
come  upon  the  bread,  and  reward  him  by  permitting 
him  to  eat  it. 

31.  After  a  little  time — a  few  days  I  mean — he  wil 
show  the  greatest  eagerness  on  your  saying,  at  any  un 
expected  moment,  "  Dead."     He  will  connect  the  word 
with  the  idea  that  there  is  something  very  desirable 
concealed  near  him,  and  he  will  be  all  impatience  to  be 
off  and  find  it ;  but  make  him  first  come  to  you — for 
reason,   see    182.  —  Keep  him  half  a  minute.  —  Then 
say  u  Find,"  and,  without  your  accompanying  him,  he 
will  search  for  what  you  have  previously  hidden.     Al- 
ways let  him  be  encouraged  to   perseverance  by  dis- 
covering something  acceptable. 

32.  Unseen  by  him,  place  the  rewards — one  at  a  time — 
in  different  parts  of  the  room, — under  the  rug  or  carpet, 
and  more  frequently  on  a  chair,  a  table,  or  a  low  shelf. 

*  Imitative  creatures !  who  can  doubt  it  ?  If  you  make  an  old 
dog  perform  a  trick  several  times  in  the  sight  of  a  young  one  who 
is  watching  the  proceedings,  you  will  be  surprised  to  see  how 
quickly  the  young  one  will  learn  the  trick,  especially  if  he  has  seen 
that  the  old  dog  was  always  rewarded  for  his  obedience. 

21 


482  DOG-BREAKING. 

He  will  be  at  a  loss  in  what  part  of  the  room  to  search. 
Assist  him  by  a  motion  of  your  arm  and  hand.  A  wave 
of  the  right  arm  and  hand  to  the  right,  will  soon  show 
him  that  he  is  to  hunt  to  the  right,  as  he  will  find  there. 
The  corresponding  wave  of  the  left  hand  and  arm  to  the 
left,  -vill  explain  to  him,  that  he  is  to  make  a  cast  to  the 
left.  The  underhand  bowler's  swing  of  the  right  hand 
and  arm,  will  show  that  he  is  to  hunt  in  a  forward  di- 
rection.* Your  occasionally  throwing  the  delicacy — in 
the  direction  you  wish  him  to  take, — whilst  waving  your 
hand,  will  aid  in  making  him  comprehend  the  signal. 
You  may  have  noticed  how  well,  by  watching  the  action 
of  a  boy's  arm,  his  little  cur  judges  towards  what  point 
to  run  for  the  expected  stone. 

33.  When  the  hidden  object  is  near  you,  but  between 
you  and  the  dog,  make  him  come  towards  you  to  seek 
for  it,  beckoning  him  with  your  right  hand.  When  he 
is  at  a  distance  at  the  "  Drop,"  if  you  are  accustomed  to 
recompense  him  for  good  behavior,  you  can  employ  this 
signal  to  make  him  rise  and  run  towards  you  for  his  re- 

*  Obedience  to  all  such  signals  will  hereafter  be  taught  out  of 
doors  at  gradually  increased  distances :  and  to  confirm  him  in  the 
habit  of  sniffing  high  in  the  air  (37)  for  whatever  you  may  then 
hide,  put  the  bread  or  meat  on  a  stick  or  bush,  but  never  in  a 
hedge.  With  the  view  to  his  some  day  retrieving,  as  instanced  in 
190,  it  will  be  your  aim  to  get  him  not  to  seek  immediately,  but  to 
watch  your  signals,  until  by  obeying  them  you  will  have  placed 
him  close  to  where  the  object  lies,  at  which  precise  moment  you  will 
say  energetically  "  Find,"  and  cease  making  any  further  signs. 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    CONTINUED.  483 

ward — and  according  to  my  judgment  he  should  always 
join  you  after  the  "down  charge," — 184.  By  these 
means  you  will  thus  familiarize  him  with  a  very  useful 
signal ;  for  that  signal  will  cause  him  to  approach  you 
in  the  field,  when  you  have  made  a  circuit  to  head  him 
at  his  point — knowing  that  birds  will  then  be  lying  some- 
where between  you  and  him — and  want  him  to  draw 
nearer  to  the  birds  and  you,  to  show  you  exactly  where 
they  are.  This  some  may  call  a  superfluous  refinement, 
but  I  hope  you  will  consider  it  a  very  killing  accomplish- 
ment, and,  being  easily  taught,  it  were  a  pity  to  neglect 
it.  When  a  Setter  is  employed  in  cock-shooting,  the 
advantage  of  using  this  signal  is  very  apparent.  While 
the  dog  is  steadily  pointing,  it  enables  the  sportsman  to 
look  for  a  favorable  opening,  and,  when  he  has  posted 
himself  to  his  satisfaction,  to  sign  to  the  Setter — or  if 
out  of  sight  to  tell  him — to  advance  and  flush  the  bird  : 
when,  should  the  sportsman  have  selected  his  position 
with  judgment,  he  will  generally  get  a  shot.  I  have 
seen  this  method  very  successfully  adopted  in  America, 
where  the  forests  are  usually  so  dense  that  cocks  are 
only  found  on  the  outskirts  in  the  underwood. 

34.  After  a  little  time  he  will  regularly  look  to  you 
for  directions.  Encourage  him  to  do  so ;  it  will  make 
him  hereafter,  when  he  is  in  the  field,  desirous  of  hunt- 
ing under  your  eye,  and  induce  him  to  look  to  you,  in  a 
similar  manner,  for  instructions  in  what  direction  he  is 
to  search  for  game.  Observe  how  a  child  watches  its 
mother's  eye ;  so  will  a  dog  watch  yours,  when  he  be- 


484  DOG-BREAKING. 

comes  interested  in  your  movements,  and  finds  that  you 
frequently  notice  him. 

35.  Occasionally,  when  he  approaches  any  of  the  spots 
where  the  bread  lies  hidden,  say  "  Care,"  and  slightly 
raise  your  right  hand.     He  will   quickly  consider  this 
word,  or  signal,   as  an   intimation  that  he  is  near  the 
object  of  his  search. 

36.  Never  deceive  him  in  any  of  these  words  and 
signs,  and  never  disappoint  him  of  the  expected  reward. 
Praise  and  caress  him  for  good  conduct ;  rate  him  for 
bad.     Make  it  a  rule  throughout  the  whole  course  of 
his  education,   out  of  doors   as  fully  as  within,  to  act 
upon  this  system.     You  will  find  that  caresses  and  sub 
stantial  rewards  are  far  greater  incentives  to  exertion 
than  any  fears  of  punishment. 

37.  Your  pup  having  become  a  tolerable  proficient  in 
these  lessons,  you  may  beneficially  extend  them  by  em- 
ploying the  word  "  Up,"  as  a  command  that  he  is  to 
sniff  high  in  the  air  to  find  the  hidden  bread  or  meat, 
lying,  say  on  a  shelf,  or  on  the  back  of  a  sofa.     He  will, 
comparatively  speaking,  be   some  time  in  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and  many  would 
probably  term  it  an  over-refinement  in  canine  education ; 
but  I  must  own  I  think  you  will  act  judiciously  if  you 
teach  it  perfectly  in  the  initiatory  lessons ;  for  the  word 
"  Up,"  if  well  understood,   will   frequently   save   your 
putting   on   the   puzzle-peg.     For   this   you   might   be 
tempted  to  employ,  should  your  dog  be  acquiring  the 
execrable  habit  of  "  raking,"  as  it  is  termed,  instead  of 


INITIATORY    LESSONS   CONTINUED.  485 

searching  for  the  delicious  effluvia  with  his  nose  carried 
high  in  the  air. 

38.  Whenever  birds  can  be  sought  for  in  the  wind, 
the  dog  should  thus  hunt  the  field — and  the  higher  he 
carries  his  nose  the  better — for,  independently  of  the 
far  greater  chance  of  finding  them,  they  will  allow  the 
dog  to  come  much  nearer  than  when  he  approaches 
them  by  the  foot :  but  of  this  more  anon. 

39.  Setters  and  Pointers  naturally  hunt  with   their 
noses  sufficiently  close  to  the  ground — they  want  ele- 
vating rather  than  depressing.     Notwithstanding,  you 
will  do  well  to  show  your  pupil  a  few  times  out  of  doors 
how  to  work  out  a  scent,  by  dragging  a  piece  of  bread 
unperceived  by  him  down  wind  through  grass,  and  then 
letting  him  "  foot"  it  out.     Try  him  for  a  few  yards  at 
first ;  you  can  gradually  increase  the  length  of  the  drag. 
You  must  not,  however,  practise  this  initiatory  lesson 
too  frequently,  lest  you  give  him  the  wretched  custom 
of  pottering. 

40.  The  word  "  Heel,"  and  a  backward  low  wave  of 
the  right  hand  and  arm  to  the  rear — the  reverse  of  the 
underhand   cricket-bowler's   swing — will,   after  a    few 
times,  bring  the  dog  close  behind  you.    Keep  him  there 
a  while  and  pat  him,  but  do  not  otherwise  reward  him. 
The  object  of  the  order  was  to  make  him  instantly  give 
up  hunting,  and  come  to  your  heels.    This  signal  cannot 
be  substituted  for  the  "  beckon."     The  one  is  an  order 
always   obeyed  with  reluctance — being  a  command  to 
leave  off  hunting — whereas  the  "  beckon"  is  merely  an 


486  DOG-BKEAKING. 

instruction  in  what  direction  to  beat,  and  will  be  attended 
to  with  delight.  The  signal  "heel,"  however,  when 
given  immediately  after  loading,  is  an  exception ;  for 
the  instructions  about  "Dead"  in  xi.  of  141,  will  show 
that  without  your  speaking  it  may  be  made  to  impart 
the  gratifying  intelligence  of  your  having  killed.  See 
also  190. 

41.  To  teach  him  to  attach  a  meaning  to  the  word 
"  Gone,"  or  "  Away,"  or  "  Flown,"  * — select  which  you 
will,  but  do  not  ring  the  changes — you  may  now  rub  a 
piece  of  meat — if  you  have  no  one  but  your  serv  int  to 
scold  you — in  some  place  where  the  dog  is  accustomed 
frequently  to  find,  and  when  he  is  sniffing  at  the  place 
say   "Gone,"  or   "Away."     This  he  will,   after  some 
trials,  perceive  to  be  an  intimation  that  it  is  of  no  use 
to  continue  hunting  for  it. 

42.  You  will  greatly  facilitate  his  acquiring  the  meaning 
of  the  command   "  Fence,"  or  "  Ware-fence,"  if,  from 
time  to  time,  as  he  is  quitting  the  room  through  the  open 
door  or  garden  window,  you  restrain  him  by  calling 
out  that  word. 

43.  Whenever,  indeed,  you  wish  him  to  desist  from 
doing    anything,     call     out     "  Ware,"  —  pronounced 
"  War" — as  it  will  expedite  his  hereafter  understanding 
the  terms  "  Ware  sheep,"  "  Ware  chase,"  and  "  Ware 
lark."     The  last  expression  to  be  used  when  he  is  wast- 

*  The  least  comprehensive  and  logical  of  the  expressions,  yet  one 
often  used.  A  dog  being  no  critical  grammarian^  understands  it  to 
apply  to  fur  as  well  as  feather. 


INITIATORY   LESSONS   CONTINUED.  487 

ing  his  time  upon  the  scent  of  anything  but  game — a 
fault  best  cured  by  plenty  of  birds  being  killed  to  him. 
However,  the  simple  word  "  No,"  omitting  "  Chase"  or 
ic  Fence,"  might  be  substituted  advantageously  for 
"  Ware."  All  you  want  him  to  do  is  to  desist  from  a 
wrong  action.  That  sharp  sound — and  when  necessary 
it  can  be  clearly  thundered  out — cannot  be  misunder 
stood. 

44.  That  your  young  dog  may  not  hereafter  resist  the 
couples,  yoke  him  occasionally  to  a  stronger  dog,  and 
for  the  sake  of  peace,  and  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  gal- 
lant, let  it  be  to  the  one  of  the  other  sex  who  appears 
to  be  the  greatest  favorite. 

45.  When  he  is  thus  far  advanced  in  his  education, 
and  tolerably  obedient,  which  he  will  soon  become  if 
you  are  consistent,  and  patient,  yet  strict,  you  can,  in 
further  pursuance  of  Astley's  plan,  associate  him  in  his 
lessons  with  a  companion.     Should  you  be  breaking  in 
another  youngster — though  one  at  a  time  you  will  pro- 
bably find  quite  enough,  especially  if  it  be  your  laudable 
wish  to  give  him  hereafter  a  well  confirmed  scientific 
range — they  can  now  be  brought  together  for  instruc- 
tion.   You  must  expect  to  witness  the  same  jealousy 
which  they  would  exhibit  on  the  stubble.     Both  will  be 
anxious  to  hunt  for  the  bread,  and  in  restraining  them 
alternately  from  so  doing,  you  exact  the  obedience  which 
you  will  require  hereafter  in  the  field,  when  in  their 
natural  eagerness  they  will  endeavor,  unless  you  pro- 
perly control  them,  to  take  the  point  of  birds  from  one 


±88  DOG-BREAKING. 

another ;  or,  in  their  rivalry,  run  over  the  taint  of  a 
wounded  bird,  instead  of  collectedly  and  perseveringly 
working  out  the  scent.  You  can  throw  a  bit  of  toast, 
and  make  them  "  Toho"  it,  and  then  let  the  dog  you 
name  take  it.  In  the  same  way  you  can  let  each  alter- 
nately search  for  a  hidden  piece,  after  both  have  come 
up  to  you,  on  your  saying  "  Dead."  I  would  also  ad- 
vise you  to  accustom  each  dog  to  "  drop,"  without  any 
command  from  you,  the  moment  he  sees  that  the  other 
is  down. 

46.  Those  lessons  will  almost  ensure  their  hereafter 
instantly  obeying,  and  nearly  instantly  comprehending 
the  object  of  the  signal  to  "  back"  any  dog  which  may 
be  pointing  game. 

4V.  When  you  take  out  two  youngsters  for  exercise, 
while  they  are  romping  about,  suddenly  call  one  into 
"heel."  After  a  time  again  send  him  off  on  his  gam- 
bols. Whistle  to  catch  the  eye  of  the  other,  and  signal 
to  him  to  join  you.  By  working  them  thus  alternately, 
while  they  are  fresh  and  full  of  spirits,  you  will  habituate 
them  to  implicit  obedience.  When  the  birds  are  wild, 
and  you  are  anxious  to  send  a  basket  of  game  to  a 
friend,  it  is  very  satisfactory  to  be  able  merely  by  a 
sign,  without  uttering  a  word,  to  bring  the  other  dogs 
into  "  heel,"  leaving  the  ground  to  the  careful  favorite. 
Teach  the  present  lesson  well,  and  you  go  far  towards 
attaining  the  desired  result. 

48.  I  trust  you  will  not  object  to  the  minutiae  of  these 
initiatory  lessons,  and  fancy  you  have  not  time  to 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  480 

attend  to  them.  By  teaching  them  well  you  will  gaiii 
time, — much  time, — and  the  time  that  is  of  most  value 
to  you  as  a  sportsman  ;  for  when  your  dog  is  regularly 
hunting  to  your  gun  his  every  faculty  ought  to  be  solely 
devoted  to  finding  birds,  and  his  undisturbed  intellects 
exclusively  given  to  aid  you  in  bagging  them,  instead  of 
being  bewildered  by  an  endeavor  to  comprehend  novel 
signals  or  words  of  command.  I  put  it  to  you  as  a 
sportsman,  whether  he  will  not  have  the  more  delight 
and  ardor  in  hunting,  the  more  he  feels  that  he  under- 
stands your  instructions?  and,  further,  I  ask  you, 
whether  he  will  not  be  the  more  sensitively  alive  to  the 
faintest  indication  of  a  haunt,  and  more  readily  follow  it 
up  to  a  sure  find,  if  he  be  unembarrassed  by  any  anxiety 
to  make  out  what  you  mean,  and  be  in  no  way  alarmed 
at  the  consequences  of  not  almost  instinctively  under- 
standing your  wishes  ? 

49.  In  all  these  lessons,  and  those  which  follow  in  the 
field,  the  checkcord  will  wonderfully  assist  you.  Indeed 
it  may  be  regarded  as  the  instructor's  right  hand.  It 
can  be  employed  so  mildly  as  not  to  intimidate  the  most 
gentle,  and  it  can,  without  the  aid  of  any  whip,  be  used 
with  such  severity,  or  I  should  rather  say  perseverance, 
as  to  conquer  the  most  wild  and  headstrong,  and  these 
are  sure  to  be  dogs  of  the  greatest  travel  and  endur- 
ance. The  cord  may  be  from  ten  to  twenty-five*  yards 

*  With  a  resolute,  reckless,  dashing  dog  you  may  advantageously 
employ  a  thinner  cord  of  double  that  length, — whereas,  the  shortest 


490  DOG-BREAKING. 

long,  according  to  the  animal's  disposition,  and  may  be 
gradually  shortened  as  he  gets  more  and  more  under 
command.  Even  when  it  is  first  employed  you  can  put 
on  a  shorter  cord  if  you  perceive  that  he  is  becoming 
tired.  In  thick  stubble,  especially  if  cut  with  a  sickle, 
the  drag  will  be  greater,  far  greater  than  when  the  cord 
glides  over  heather.  The  cord  may  be  of  the  thick- 
ness of  what  some  call  strong  lay-cord,  but  made  of 
twelve  threads.  Sailors  would  know  it  by  the  name  of 
log-line  or  cod-line.  To  save  the  end  from  fraying  it 
can  be  whipped  with  thread,  which  is  better  than  tying 
a  knot,  because  it  is  thus  less  likely  to  become  entangled. 
50.  Hunted  with  such  a  cord,  the  most  indomitable 
dog,  when  he  is  perfectly  obedient  to  the  "  drop,"  is 
nearly  as  amenable  to  command  as  if  the  end  of  the  line 
were  in  the  breaker's  hand.  By  no  other  means  can 

SPANIELS 

oe  quickly  broken  in.  The  general  object  of  the  trainer 
is  to  restrain  them  from  ranging  at  a  distance  likely  to 
spring  game  out  of  gun-shot,  and  to  make  them  perfect 
to  the  "  down  charge."  If  one  of  these  high-spirited 
animals  will  not  range  close  when  called  to  by  whistle 

line  will  sometimes  prevent  a  timid  animal  from  ranging  freely. 
By-the-bye,  the  thinner  the  cord  the  more  readily  does  it  become 
entangled — as  a  rule,  a  checkcord  cannot  be  too  firmly  twisted — 
a  soft  one  quickly  gets  knotted  and  troublesome.  (See  note  t,<» 
177.) 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  .491 

or  name,  the  breaker  gets  hold  of  the  cord  and  jerks  it ; 
this  makes  the  dog  come  in  a  few  paces ;  another  jerk 
or  two  makes  him  approach  closer,  and  then  the  breaker, 
by  himself  retiring  with  his  face  towards  the  spaniel, 
calling  out  his  name — or  whistling, — and  occasionally 
jerking  the  cord,  makes  him  quite  submissive,  and  more 
disposed  to  obey  on  future  occasions. 

51.  In  training  a  large  team  it  is  of  much  advantage 
to  the  keeper  to  have  a  lad  to  rate,  and,  when  neces- 
sary, give  the  skirters  a  taste  of  the  lash — in  short,  to 
act  as  whipper-in.     The  keeper  need  not  then  carry  a 
whip,  or   at  least   often   use  it,  which  will  make   his 
spaniels  all  the  more  willing  to  hunt  close  to  him. 

52.  Lord  A r's  head  gamekeeper  was  singularly 

aided— he  possessed  a  four-legged  whipper-in.      Three 

years  since  while  Mr.  D s — M.P.  for  a  South  Eastern 

County — was  with  a  shooting  party  at  his  Lordship's, 
the  keeper  brought  into  the  field  a  brace  of  powerful 
retrievers,  and  a  team  of  spaniels,  among  which  were 
two   that   had   never   been   shot   over.      On   the   first 
pheasant  being  killed  all  the  old  spaniels   dropped   to 
shot,  but  one  of  the   young  ones  rushed  forward  and 
mouthed  the  bird.     The  person  who  had  fired  ran  on  to 
save  the  bird,  but  the  keeper  called  aloud,  and  requested 
him  not  to  move.     The  man  then  made  a  signal  to  one 
of  the  retrievers  to  go.     He  did  so  instantly,  but,  in- 
stead of  meddling  with  the  bird,  he  seized  the  spaniel, 
lifted  him  up,  and  shook  him  well.     The  moment  the 
pup  could  escape  he  came  howling  to  the  "heels"  of 


492  DOG-BREAKIXG. 

the  keeper,  and  lay  down  among  his  companions.  *  The 
keeper  then  confessed  that  a  couple  of  the  spaniels  had 
never  been  shot  to — but  he  confidently  assured  the 
sportsmen  they  would  see  before  the  day  was  over  that 
the  pups  behaved  fully  as  steadily  as  the  old  dogs,  and 
explained  to  the  party  how  the  retriever  did  all  the  dis- 
agreeable work,  and  indeed  nearly  relieved  him  of  every 
trouble  in  breaking  in  the  youngsters.  On  the  next  few 
shots  this  novel  schoolmaster  was  again  deputed  to  show 
his  pupils  that  he  would  not  allow  his  special  duties  as  a 
retriever  to  be  interfered  with.  Both  the  young  dogs, 
having  been  thus  well  chastised,  became  more  careful — 
made  only  partial  rushes  to  the  front,  when  a  recollec- 
tion of  their  punishment  and  a  dread  of  their  four-footed 
tutor  brought  them  slinking  back  to  their  older  compa- 
nions. As  the  keeper  had  averred,  they  soon  learned 
their  lesson  completely — gave  up  all  thought  of  chasing 
after  shot,  and  quietly  crouched  down  with  the  other  dogs. 
53.  I  can  easily  imagine  that  it  was  a  feeling  of 
jealousy  which  first  prompted  the  retriever  to  thrash 
some  spaniel  who  was  endeavoring  to  carry  off  a  bird, 
and  that  the  clever  keeper  encouraged  him  in  doing  so, 
instantly  perceiving  the  value  of  such  assistance.  It  is 
worth  a  consideration  whether  it  would  not  be  advisable 
to  train  the  retriever  employed  with  a  team  to  give  this 
assistance.  A  dog  of  a  quarrelsome  disposition  could  be 
taught,  by  your  urging  him,  to  seize  any  spaniel  who 
might  be  mouthing  a  bird,  in  the  same  manner  you 
would  set  on  a  young  terrier  to  fly  at  a  rat. 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  493 

54.  Doubtless   it  is  the  highest  training  to  teach  a 
team  to  "  down-charge,"  but  most  breakers  make  their 
spaniels  come  into  "  heel,"  or  rather  gather  close  around 
them — by  the  word  "round" — whenever  a  gun  is  dis- 
charged.    This  plan,  though  so  injudicious  in  the  case 
of  pointers  or  setters,  is  but  little  objectionable  in  the 
case  of  spaniels,  for  spaniels  in  their  small  sweep  in- 
wards are  not  likely  to  spring  game  while  the  guns  are 
unloaded.     It  certainly  possesses  this  merit,  that  it  is 
readily  taught  to  puppies — with  the  aid  of  a  whipper-in 
— by  the  trainer's  giving  them  some  delicacy  on  their 
rejoining  him.     It  may  be  urged  too  that  the  method 
much  removes  any  necessity  for  noise  in  calling  to  a  dog 
— whereas,  with  a  team  trained  to  the  "  down-charge," 
however  highly  broken,  it  will  occasionally  happen  that 
the  keeper — or   assistant — has    to    rate    some    excited 
skirter   for   not    instantly    "  dropping."     Moreover,  in 
thick  cover,  an  infraction  of  the  irksome  rule  to  "  down 
charge  "  may  sometimes  escape  detection,  which  might 
lead  to  future  acts  of  insubordination.     Prince  Albert's 
team  of  Clumbers   "  down-charge,"  but  the   greatest 
attention  is  paid  to  them.     They  are  admirably  broken, 
and  I  may  add,  are  shot  over  by  a  first-rate  hand. 

55.  When  exercising  young  spaniels  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  habituate   them,    even   as   puppies,   never  to  stray 
further  from  you  than  about  twenty  yards.    With  them, 
even  more  than  with  other  kinds  of  dogs  trained  for  the 
gun,  great  pains  should  be  taken  to  prevent  their  having 
the  opportunity  of  "  self-hunting."     If  it  is  wished  to 


494  DOG-BREAKING. 

break  from  hare,  the  method  to  be  followed  is  men 
tioned  in  233,  <fcc.,  for  with  spaniels  as  with  setters — or 
pointers — it  is  always  advisable  to  drag  them  back  to 
the  spot  from  which  they  started  in  pursuit. 

56.  Occasionally  you  may  see  a  country  blacksmith 
when  preparing  to  shoe  the  hind  legs  of  a  cart  horse 
that  appears  disposed  to  make  a  disagreeable  use  of  his 
heels,  twist  the  long  hair  at  the  end  of  his  tail, — raise 
the  foot  that  is  to  be  shod, — pass  the  twisted  hair  round 
the  leg  immediately  above  the  hock,  and  by  these 
means  press  the  tendon  close  to  the  bone.  The  t\i\ 
assists  in  retaining  the  leg  in  position,  and  thus,  for  the 
time,  the  limb  is  rendered  powerless.  Acting  much 
upon  this  coercive  principle,  but  discarding  the  aid  of 
the  tail,  some  breakers  slightly  confine  a  hind-leg  of 
their  most  unruly  spaniels  with  a  soft  bandage,  shifting 
it  from  one  leg  to  the  other  about  every  hour.  Possibly 
a  loop  of  vulcanized  india-rubber,  being  elastic,  would 
best  answer  the  purpose.  Restrained  in  this  manner  a 
dog  is  less  likely  to  tumble  about,  and  become  injured, 
than  if  one  of  his  fore  legs  had  been  passed  through  his 
collar.  Other  breakers,  when  hunting  many  couple 
together,  fasten  a  belt  with  a  few  pounds  of  shot  round 
the  necks  of  the  wildest.  But  the  sooner  such  adjuncts 
to  discipline  can  be  safely  discarded  the  better;  for 
"  brushing  "  a  close  cover  is  severe  work.  Gorse  is  the 
most  trying.*  Its  prickles  are  so  numerous  and  fine  that 

*  There  is  no  gorse  in  America.     It  is  a  prickly  shrub,  sevci'e 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    CONTINUED.  495 

the  ears  and  eyes  of  every  spaniel  hunted  in  it  ought  to 
be  separately  examined  on  returning  home,  and  well 
bathed  in  warm  water.  Their  eyes  are  peculiarly  liable 
to  be  injured  by  dust  and  gravel  from  their  hunting  so 
close  to  the  ground. 

5*7.  To  give  young  spaniels  sufficient  courage  to  face 
the  most  entangled  cover,  a  judicious  trainer  will  occa- 
sionally introduce  them  to  thick  brakes,  or  gorse,  early 
in  the  morning,  or  in  the  evening,  when  the  noise  of  his 
approach  will  have  made  the  pheasants  feeding  in  the 
neighborhood  run  far  into  it  for  shelter.  The  effluvia 
of  the  birds  will  then  so  excite  the  young  dogs,  especially 
if  cheered  with  good  companionship — which  always 
creates  emulation — that  they  will  utterly  disregard  the 
pricks  and  scratches  of  the  strongest  furze. 

58.  If  the  time  of  year  will  permit,  they  should  be 
shown  game  when  about  nine  or  ten  months  old.  At  a 
more  advanced  age  they  would  be  less  amenable  to 
control.  Happily  the  example  of  a  riotous  pup  will  not 
be  as  detrimental  to  the  discipline  of  the  rest  of  the 
team  as  the  example  of  an  ill-conducted  companion 
would  be  to  a  pointer — or  setter — for  the  influence  of 
thoroughly  steady  spaniels  makes  the  pup  curtail  his 
range  sooner  than  might  be  expected.  Finding  that  he 
is  not  followed  by  his  associates  he  soon  rejoins  them. 

50.  A  judicious  breaker  will  regard  perfection  in  the 

enough,  but  nothing  to  compare  to  catbriars,  or  even  to  the  hollies 
of  Southern  Jersey.— H.  W.  H. 


496  DOG-BREAKING. 

"  drop" — 22  to  25 — as  the  main-spring  of  his  educa- 
tional system.  He  will  teach  his  young  spaniels  to 
"  seek  dead" — 30,  31,  39 — where  directed  by  signs  of 
the  hand.  He  will  instruct  them  in  "  fetching" — 92,  94. 
&G. — with  the  view  to  some  of  them  hereafter  retrieving. 
He  will  accustom  them  to  hunt  hedge-rows,  and  light 
open  copses — because  always  under  his  eye — before 
taking  them  into  closer  cover.  Nor  until  they  are  under 
some  command,  and  well  weaned  from  noticing  vermin 
and  small  birds,  will  he  allow  them  to  enter  gorse  or 
strong  thickets,  and  then  he  will  never  neglect — though 
probably  he  will  have  used  them  before — to  attach  bells 
of  different  sounds  to  the  collars  of  his  several  pupils — 
one  to  each — so  that  his  ear  may  at  ah1  times  detect  any 
truant  straying  beyond  bounds,  and  thus  enable  him  to 
rate  the  delinquent  by  name.  In  this  manner  he  esta- 
blishes the  useful  feeling  elsewhere  spoken  of— 262 — that 
whether  he  be  within  or  out  of  sight  he  is  equally  aware 
of  every  impropriety  that  is  committed. 

60.  Young  spaniels,  when   they  have  been  steadily 
broken   in  not  to  hunt  too  far  ahead  on  the  instruc- 
tor's side  of  the  hedge,  may  be  permitted  to  beat  on 
the   other — and    this  when  only  one   person  is  shoot- 
ing   is   generally  their  most  useful  position,    for. they 
are  thus  more  likely  to  drive  the  game  towards  the 
gun. 

61.  If  a  keeper  is  hunting  the  team,  while  you  and  a 
friend  are  beating  narrow  belts  or  strips  of  wood,  should 
you  and  he  be  placed,  as  is  usual,  on  the  outside,  a  little 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  497 

ahead  of  the  keeper — one  to  his  right,  the  other  to  his 
left — you  would  much  aid  him  in  preventing  the  young 
spaniels  from  ranging  wildly  were  you  to  turn  your  face 
towards  him  whenever  you  saw  any  of  them  getting  too 
far  in  advance,  for  they  will  watch  the  guns  as  much  as 
they  will  him. 

62.  Among  spaniels  the  great  advantage  of  age  and 
experience  is  more  apparent  than  in  partridge-dogs.     A 
young  spaniel  cannot  keep  to  a  pheasant's  tail  like  an 
old  one.     He  may  push  the  bird  for  forty  or  fifty  yards 
if  judiciously  managed.     After  that  he  is  almost  sure 
from  impatience  either  to  lose  it,  or  rush  in  and  flush 
out  of  shot,  whereas  an  old  cocker,  who  has  had  much 
game  shot    over  him,  is  frequently   knowing    enough 
to  slacken  his  pace,  instead  of  increasing  it,  when  he 
first  touches  on  birds,  apparently  quite  sensible  that  he 
ought  to  give  the  gun  time  to  approach  before  he  presses 
to  a  flush. 

63.  Even  good  spaniels,  however  well  bred,  if  they 
have  not  had  great  experience,  generally  road  too  fast. 
Undeniably  they  are  difficult  animals  to  educate,  and  it 
requires  much  watchfulness,  perseverance,  and  attention 
at  an  early  age,  so  to  break  in  a  team  of  young  ones 
that  they  shall  keep  within   gun  range  without   your 
being  compelled  to  halloo  or  whistle  to  them.    But  some 
few  are  yet  more  highly  trained. 

64.  Mr.  N" n,  when  in  France,  had  a  lively,  intelli- 
gent, liver  and  white  cocker  which  would  work  busily 
all  day  long  within  gun-shot ;  and  which  possessed  the 


498  DOG-BREAKING. 

singular  accomplishment  of  steadily  pointing  all  game 
that  lay  well,  and  of  not  rushing  in  until  the  sportsman 
had  come  close  to  him.  But  this  is  a  case  of  high  break- 
ing more  curious  than  useful,  for  spaniels  are  essentially 
springers,  not  pointers,  and  the  little  animal  must  fre- 
quently have  been  lost  sight  of  in  cover.  Our  grand- 
fathers used  to  apply  the  term  springers  solely  to  large 
spaniels — never  to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough's  small 
breed,  which  was  greatly  prized. 

65.  A  dog  is  generally  most  attached  to  that  descrip- 
tion of  sport,  and  soonest  recognises  the  scent  of  that 
game,  to  which  he  has  principally  been  accustomed  in 
youth.     He  will  through  life  hunt  most  diligently  where 
he  first  had  the  delight  of  often  finding.     The  utility 
therefore  is  obvious  of  introducing  spaniels  at  an  early 
age  to  close  covers  and  hedge-rows,  and  setters  and 
pointers  to  heather  and  stubble. 

66.  In  spaniels,  feathered  sterns  and  long  ears  are 
much  admired,  but  obviously  the  latter  must  suffer  in 
thick  underwood.     The  chief  requisite  in  all  kinds  of 
spaniels,  is,  that  they  be  good  finders,  and  have  noses  so 
true  that  they  will  never  overrun  a  scent.     Should  they 
do  so  when  footing  an  old  cock*  pheasant,  the  chances 

*  The  only  bird  which  we  have  in  America,  at  all  analogous  in 
habit  to  the  pheasant,  though  totally  different  in  species  and  ap- 
pearance, is  the  Ruffed  Grouse,  erroneously  called  Pheasant  in  the 
South,  and  Partridge  in  the  Eastern  States.  It  is,  however,  for  cock 
and  quail  shooting  in  covert,  that  the  Spaniel  would  be  of  such  in- 
estimable service  to  sportsmen  in  North  America. — H.  "W.  H. 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  499 

are  that  he  will  double  back  on  the  exact  line  by  which 
he  came.  They  should  be  high-mettled, — as  regardless 
of  the  severest  weather  as  of  the  most  punishing  cover, 
and  ever  ready  to  spring  into  the  closest  thicket  the 
moment  a  pointed  finger  gives  the  command. 

67.  A  comprehension  of  the  signal  made  by  the  finger 
— which  is  far  neater  than  the  raising  of  the  hand  de- 
scribed in  30,  but  not   so  quickly  understood — might 
with  advantage  be  imparted  to  all  dogs  trained  for  the 
gun,  in  order  to  make  them  hunt  close  exactly  where 
directed.     It   is   usually  taught  by   pointing  with  the 
fore-finger  of  the  right  hand  to  pieces  of  biscuit,  pre 
viously  concealed,  near  easily  recognised  tufts  of  grass, 
weeds,   <fec.      It    is    beautiful  to    see    how   correctly, 
promptly,  yet  quietly,  some  spaniels  will  work  in  every 
direction  thus  indicated. 

68.  Breasting  a  strong  cover  with  cockers,  is  more 
suited  to  young,  than  to  old  men.     The  gun  must  follow 
rapidly,  and  stick  close  when  a  dog  is  on  the  road  of 
feather.     A  shot  will  then  infallibly  be  obtained,  if  a 
good  dog  be  at  work ;  for  the  more  closely  a  bird  is 
pressed,  the  hotter  gets  the  scent.     If  a  pheasant  found 
in  thick  cover  on  marshy  ground  near  water — a  locality 
they  much  like  in  hot  weather — is  not  closely  pushed, 
he  will  so  twist,  and  turn,  and  double  upon  old  tracks 
that  none  but  the  most  experienced  dogs  will  be  able  to 
stick  to  him. 

69.  The   preceding  observations   respecting   spaniels 
apply   to    all   descriptions    employed    on    land-service, 


500  DOG-BREAKING. 

whether  of  the  strong  kind,  the  Sussex  breed  and  the 
Clumber,  or  the  smallest  cockers,  Blenheims  and  King 
Charles'.  But  whether  they  are  to  be  trained  not  to 
hunt  flick* — the  most  difficult  part  of  their  tuition,  and 
in  which  there  is  generally  most  failure, — and  whether 
they  shall  be  bred  to  give  tongue,  or  run  mute,  will  de- 
pend much  upon  the  nature  of  the  country  to  be  hunted, 
and  yet  more  upon  the  taste  of  the  proprietor.  No 
fixed  rules  can  be  given  for  a  sport  that  varies  so  much 
as  cover-shooting. 

70.  Of  the  large  kind,  most  sportsmen  will  think  a 
couple  and  a  half  a  sufficient  number  to  hunt  at  a  time. 
Certainly  one  of  them  should  retrieve :  and  they  ought 
to  be  well  broken  in  not  to  notice  flick.     These  dogs 
are  most  esteemed  when  they  run  mute.     If  they  do, 
they  must  be  hunted  with  bells  in  very  thick  cover  ;  but 
the  less  bells  are  employed  the  better,  for  the  tinkling 
sound,  in  a  greater  or  smaller  degree,  annoys  all  game. 
Such  dogs,  when  good,  are  very  valuable. 

71.  I  once  shot  over  a  team  of  Clumber  spaniels  be- 
longing to  Mr.  D z.f     The  breed — the  Duke  of  New- 
castle's, taking  their  name  from  one  of  his  seats — are 

*  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  the  good  fortune,  or  the  bad 
fortune,  as  the  case  may  be,  of  always  living  within  the  sound  of 
Bow  bells,  "  Flick,"  be  it  observed,  is  a  synonym  for  "  Fur,"  there- 
by meaning  Hare  or  Rabbit. 

f  Contrary  to  my  usual  system,  I  preserve  these  anecdotes,  aa 
relating  to  the  Clumber  Spaniels,  which  are  so  little  known,  and 
which  1  so  much  desire  to  see  introduced  in  America. — H.  W.  II. 


INITIATORY    LESS  )XS    CONTHSTUED.  501 

mostly  white  with  a  little  lemon  color,  have  large,  sensi- 
ble heads,  thick,  short  legs,  silky  coats,  carry  their  sterns 
low,  and  hunt  perfectly  mute.  The  team  kept  within 
twenty  or  twenty-five  yards  of  the  keeper,  were  trained 
to  acknowledge  rabbits,  as  well  as  all  kinds  of  game  ; 

and  in  the  country  Mr.  D z  was  then  shooting  over 

afforded  capital  sport.  One  of  the  spaniels  was  taught 
to  retrieve.  He  would  follow  to  any  distance,  and  sel- 
dom failed  to  bring.  A  regular  retriever  was,  however, 

generally  taken  out  with  them.     Mr.  D z  told  me 

that  they  required  very  judicious  management,  and  en- 
couragement rather  than  severity,  as  undue  whipping 
soon  made  them  timid.  They  are  of  a  delicate  constitu- 
tion. He  rather  surprised  me  by  saying  that  his 
spaniels  from  working  quietly  and  ranging  close, — there- 
fore, alarming  the  birds  less, — procured  him  far  more 
shots  in  turnips  than  his  pointers ;  and  he  had  three  that 
looked  of  the  right  sort.  He  explained  matters,  how- 
ever, by  telling  me  that  it  was  his  practice  to  make  a 
circuit  round  the  outskirts  of  a  turnip  or  a  potato  field 
before  hunting  the  inner  parts.  This  of  course  greatly 
tended  to  prevent  the  birds  breaking.  A  juvenile 
sportsman  would  rejoice  in  the  services  of  the  spaniels, 
for  many  a  rabbit  would  they  procure  for  him  without 
the  aid  of  powder  and  shot. 

72.  When  Colonel  M ,  who  died  in  Syria,  was 

stationed  with  his  troop  of  Horse  Artillery  at  Pontefract, 

he  was  asked  to  shoot  partridges  at  Lord  P n's  seat 

in  Yorkshire.     On  meeting  the  gamekeeper,  according 


602  DOG-BKEAKING. 

to  appointment,  he  found  him  surrounded  by  a  team  of 

Clumber  spaniels.     Colonel  M ,  in  some  surprise  at 

seeing  no  setters  or  pointers,  remarked  that  he  had  ex- 
pected some  partridge  shooting.  "I  know  it,"  answered 
the  man,  "  and  I  hope  to  show  you  some  sport."  To 
the  inquiry  why  one  of  the  spaniels  was  muzzled,  the 
keeper  said  that  his  master  had  threatened  to  shoot  it 
should  it  again  give  tongue,  and,  as  it  possessed  a  par- 
ticularly fine  nose,  he — the  keeper — was  anxious  not  to 

lose  it.     They  walked  on,  and  soon  the  man  told  M 

to  be  prepared,  as  the  spaniels  were  feathering.  A  covey 
rose.  The  Colonel,  who  was  a  good  shot,  killed  right 
and  left.  All  the  spaniels  dropped  instantly.  When  he 
was  reloading  the  keeper  begged  him  to  say  which  of 

the  dogs  should  retrieve  the  game.     M pointed  to 

a  broad-headed  dog  lying  in  the  middle,  when  the 
keeper  directed  by  name  the  spaniel  so  favored  to  be 
off.  It  quickly  fetched  one  of  the  birds.  The  keeper 

then  asked  M to  choose  some  other  dog  to  bring 

the  remaining  bird — a  runner.  He  did  so,  and  the 
animal  he  selected  to  act  as  retriever  performed  the 
duty  very  cleverly;  the  rest  of  the  team  remaining 
quite  still,  until  its  return. 

The  Colonel  had  capital  sport,  killing  nearly  twenty 
brace,  and  the  dogs  behaved  beautifully  throughout  the 
day.  When  afterwards  relating  the  circumstances,  he 
observed  that,  although  an  old  sportsman,  he  had  seldom 
been  so  gratified,  as  it  was  a  novel  scene  to  him,  who 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  shoot  over  spaniels. 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTIXUK1).  50i 

73.  Of  small  cockers,  three  couple  appear  ample  to 
form  a  team.     Some  teams  of  small  springers  greatly 
exceed   this  number,  and  many  sportsmen  shoot  over 
more  than  a  couple  and  a  half  of  the  larger  spaniels ; 
but  it  is  a  question  whether,  in  the  generality  of  cases, 
the  gun  would  not  benefit  by  the  number  being  dimi- 
nished rather  than  increased.     The  smaller  in  number 

the  team,  the  greater  is  the  necessity  that  none  of  them 

Q 
should  stick  too  close  to  "  heel."     The  difficulty  is  to 

make  them  hunt  far  enough,  and  yet  not  too  far.  At 
least  one  of  the  number  should  retrieve  well.  If  they 
give  tongue,  it  ought  to  be  in  an  intelligible  manner; 
softly,  when  they  first  come  on  the  haunt  of  a  cock,  but 
making  the  cover  ring  again  with  their  joyous  melody, 
when  once  the  bird  is  flushed.  A  first  rate  cocker  will 
never  deceive  by  opening  upon  an  old  haunt,  nor  yet 
find  the  gun  unprepared  by  delaying  to  give  due  warn- 
ing before  he  flushes  the  bird.  When  cocks  are  abun- 
dant, some  teams  are  broken,  not  only  to  avoid  flick, 
but  actually  not  to  notice  a  pheasant,  or  anything  besides 
woodcock.  Hardly  any  price  would  tempt  a  real  lover 
of  cock-shooting,  in  a  cocking  country,  to  part  with  such 
a  team.  Hawker  terms  the  sport,  "  the  fox-hunting  of 
shooting."  Some  sportsmen  kill  water-hens  to  young 
spaniels  to  practise  them  in  forcing  their  way  through 
entangled  covers,  and  get  them  well  in  hand  and  steady 
against  the  all-important  cocking  season. 

74.  When  a  regular  retriever  can  be  constantly  em- 
ployed with  spaniels,  of  course  it  will  be  unnecessary  to 


504  DOG-BREAKING. 

make  any  of  them  fetch  game — certainly  never  to  lift 
anything  which  falls  out  of  bounds — though  all  the 
team  should  be  taught  to  "seek  dead."  This  is  the 
plan  pursued  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  keepers,  and 
obviously  it  is  the  soundest  and  easiest  practice,  for  it 
must  always  be  more  or  less  difficult  to  make  a  spaniel 
keep  within  his  usual  hunting  limits,  who  is  occasionally 
encouraged  to  pursue  wounded  game,  at  his  best  pace, 
to  a  considerable  distance.  • 

75.  Other  teams  are  broken  no  more   than  to  keep 
within  range,  being  allowed  to  hunt  all  kinds  of  game, 
and  also  rabbits ;  they,  however,   are   restricted   from 
pursuing  wounded    flick    further  than    fifty   or   sixty 
yards.     Where    rabbits   are    abundant,   and   outlying, 
a  team  thus  broken  affords  lively  sport — nothing  escapes 
them. 

76.  Wild  spaniels,  though  they  may  show  you  most 
cock,  will  get  you  fewest  shots,  unless  you  have  well- 
placed  markers.     There  are  sportsmen  who  like  to  take 
out  one  steady  dog  to  range  close  to  them,  and  a  couple 
of  wild  ones  to  hunt  on  the  flanks,  one  on  each  side,  ex- 

0 

pressly  that  the  latter  may  put  up  birds  for  the  markers 
to  take  note  of. 

77.  An  old  sportsman  knows  mute  spaniels  to  be  most 
killing :  a   young  one    may    prefer   those  which    give 
tongue — if  true  from  the  beginning  owning  nothing  but 
game, — because,  though  undeniably  greater  disturbers 
of  a  cover,  they  are  more  cheerful  and  animating.     The 
superiority  of  the  former  is,  however,  apparent  on  a  still 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  505 

calm  day,  when  the  least  noise  will  make  the  game  steal 
away  long  before  the  gun  gets  within  shot.  But  it  is 
not  so  in  all  countries. 

78.  In  very  thick  covers  it  is  obvious,  the  height  of 
setters  being  greatly  against  them,  that  spaniels  are  far 
preferable :  but  in  light  covers,  and  when  the  leaves  are 
off  the  trees,  handy  old  setters — if  white,  all  the  better — • 
that  will  readily  confine  themselves  to  a  restricted  range, 
and  will  flush  their  game  when  ordered — iv.  and  vn.  of 
119  and  196 — afford  quite  as  much  sport,  if  not  more. 
Setters  do  not,  to  the  same  degree,  alarm  birds;  and 
there  is,  also,  this  advantage,  that  they  can  be  employed 
on  all  occasions,  excepting  in  low  gorse  or  the  closest 
thickets,  whereas  spaniels,  from  their  contracted  "  beat," 
are  nearly  useless  in  the  open  when  game  is  scarce.  You 
will  be  prepared,  when  first  you  hunt  a  setter  in  cover, 
to  sacrifice  much  of  your  sport.  There  must  be  noise : 
for  it  is  essential  to  make  him  at  once  thoroughly  under- 
stand the  very  different  "beat"  required  of  him,  and 
this  can  only  be  effected  by  constantly  checking  and 
rating  him,  whenever  he  ranges  beyond  the  prescribed 
limits.  He  should  hunt  slowly  and  carefully  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  never  be  much  in  advance  of  the  guns.  In 
a  short  time  he  will  comprehend  matters,  if  you  are  so 
forbearing  and  judicious  as  invariably  to  call  him  away 
from  every  point  made  the  least  out  of  bounds.  A  less 
severe  test  of  your  consistency  will  not  suffice.  The  few 
first  days  will  either  make  or  mar  him  as  a  cover-dog. 
You  must  naturally  expect  that  hunting  him  much  in 

22 


506  DOG-BKEAKING. 

cover  will  injure  his  range  in  the  open,  and  make  him  too 
fond  of  hedge-rows. 

79.  But  there  is  a  man  in  Yorkshire,  who  will   not 

willingly  admit   this.*     C e,  Sir    George  A e's 

gamekeeper — and  a  good  one  he  is,  for  he  has  a  particu- 
larly difficult  country  to  protect,  one  intersected  witb 
"rights  of  way  "  in  every  direction — makes  his  pointers  as 
freely  hunt  the  cover  as  the  open.     You  never  lose  them, 
for  they  are  sure  to  make  their  appearance  when  they 
think  they  have  given  you  ample  time  to  go  to  them  if 
you  choose.     This  cover  work  does  not  the   least  un- 
steady them,  but  it  is  right  to  state  that  C is  an 

unusually  good  breaker,  and  works  his  dogs  with  singu- 
lar temper  and   patience.      They  are  very  attached  to 
him,  and  appear  to  listen  anxiously  to  what  he  says 
when  he  talks  to  them — which,  I  own,  he  does  more  than 
I  recommend. 

80.  Pointers,  however,  are  manifestly  out  of  place  in 
strong  cover,  though  an  unusually  high-couraged  one 
may  occasionally  be  found,  who  will  dash  forward   in 
defiance  of  pricks  and   scratches ;  but  it  is  not  fair  to 
expect  it.     In  a  very  light  cover  I  have  often  shot  over 
one  belonging  to  a  relation  of  mine,  which  was  so  clever, 
that  when  I  came  close  to  her  as  she  was  pointing,  she 

*  I  leave  these  two  anecdotes,  contrary  to  my  usual  system,  aa 
we  use  setters  and  pointers  so  generally  in  cover  in  America,  that 
the  idea  of  their  being  utterly  unfit  for  cover  work  seems  strange 
Yet  such  is  the  opinion  in  England,  and  where  they  are  chiefly  used 
in  the  open  it  does  operate  to  spoil  their  range.— H.  W.  H. 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    CONTINUED.  507 

would  frequently  run  around  to  the  other  side  of  the 
thicket,  and  then  rush  in  to  drive  the  game  towards  me. 
This  killing  plan  had  in  no  way  been  taught  her ;  she 
adopted  it  solely  of  her  own  sagacity.  Having  been 
much  hunted  in  cover  when  young,  she  was  so  fond  of 
it  (65)  as  to  be,  comparatively  speaking,  quite  unservice 
able  on  the  stubbles. 


WATER   SPANIELS    (OR   WATER   RETRIEVERS). 

81.  A  young   water  spaniel  might,  with  advantage, 
occasionally  be  indulged  with  a  duck   hunt   in  warm 
weather.      It  would  tend  to   make   him  quick  in  the 
water,  and  observant.     The  finishing  lessons  might  con- 
clude with  your  shooting  the  bird  and  obliging  him  to 
retrieve  it.     He  should  be  made  handy  to  your  signals 
— iv.  to  vii.  and  x.  of  119 — so  as  to  hunt  the  fens  and 
marshes,  and  "  seek  dead  "  exactly  where  you  may  wish. 

82.  This  obedience   to   the   hand  is   particularly  re- 
quired ;  for  when  the  spaniel  is  swimming  he  is  on  a  level 
with  the  bird,  and  therefore  is  not  so  likely  to  see  it — 
especially  if  there  is  a  ripple  on  the  water — as  you,  who 
probably  are  standing  many  feet  above   him   on   the 
shore.     As  you  may  frequently,  while  he  is  retrieving, 
have  occasion  to  direct  his  movements  when  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  him,  you  probably  would  find  it 
more  advantageous   to  teach  him  the   forward  signal 
used  by  shepherds,  than  the  one  described  in  iv.  of  110. 


508  DOG-BKEAKING. 

83.  A  water  spaniel  should  also  be  taught  to  fetch— 
86,  87,  91  to  94 — be  accustomed  to  follow  quietly  close 
to  your  heels, — be  broken  in,  not  to  the  "  down  charge" 
— 26 — but  to  the   "  drop" — 22  to  25 — the  instant  you 
signal  to  him,  while  you   are   noiselessly  stalking   the 
wild-fowl  previously  reconnoitred,  with  the  aid  of  your 
Dollond,  from   some   neighboring    height ;  nor  should 
he  stir  a  limb,  however  long  he  and  you  may  have  to 
await,  ensconced  behind   a  favoring  bush,   the   right 
moment  for  the  destructive  raking  discharge  of  your 
first  barrel,  to  be  followed  by  the  less  murderous  but 
still  effective  flying  shot.     On  hearing  the  report,  it  is 
his  duty  to  dash  instantly  into  the  water,  and  secure 
the  slain  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

84.  A  really   good  water  retriever  is  a  scarce  and 
valuable  animal.     He  should  be  neither  white  nor  black, 
because  the  colors  are  too  conspicuous,  especially  the 
former — a  hint  by-the-bye  for  your  own  costume  ;* — 

*  But  when  the  moors  are  covered  with  snow,  poachers,  who 
emerge  in  bands  from  the  mines,  often  put  a  shirt  over  their  clothes, 
and  manage  to  approach  grouse  at  a  time  when  a  fair  sportsman 
cannot  get  a  shot;  but  this  is  the  only  occasion  on  which  one  uni- 
form color  could  be  advantageous.  A  mass  of  any  single  color 
always  catches,  and  arrests  the  eye.  Nature  tells  us  this;  animals 
that  browse,  elephants,  buffaloes,  and  large  deer,  as  well  as  those 
which  can  escape  from  their  enemies  by  speed,  are  mostly  of  one 
color.  On  the  contrary,  the  tiger  kind,  snakes,  and  all  that  lie  in 
wait  for,  and  seize  their  prey  by  stealth,  wear  a  garment  of  many 
colors,  so  do  the  smaller  animals  and  most  birds,  which  are  saved 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    CONTINUED.  509 

he  should  be  perfectly  mute ;  of  a  patient  disposition, 
though  active  in  the  pursuit  of  birds ;  of  so  hardy  a 
constitution  as  not  to  mind  the  severest  cold, — therefore 
no  coddling  while  he  is  young  near  a  fire, — and  possess 
what  many  are  deficient  in,  viz.  a  good  nose :  conse 
quently  a  cross  that  will  improve  his  nose,  yet  not 
decrease  his  steadiness,  is  the  great  desideratum  in 
breeding.  He  should  swim  rapidly,  for  wild  fowl 
that  are  only  winged,  will  frequently  escape  from  the 
quickest  dog  if  they  have  plenty  of  sea-room  and  deep 
water — see  also  96,  302. 

85.  In  the  wild-nee  lakes,  as  they  are  commonly 
called,  of  America,  a  brace  of  highly-trained  spaniels 
will  sometimes,  on  a  windy  day,  afford  you  magnificent 
sport.  The  cover  is  so  good  that,  if  it  is  not  often 
beaten,  the  birds  will  frequently  get  up  singly,  or  only 
a  couple  at  a  time.  The  dogs  should  keep  swimming 
about  within  gun  shot,  while  you  are  slowly  and  silently 
paddling,  or  probably  poling  your  canoe  through  the 
most  likely  spots.  Relays  of  spaniels  are  requisite,  for 
it  is  fatiguing  work.  If,  by  any  rare  chance,  you  are 
situated  where  you  can  get  much  of  this  delightful 
shooting,  and  you  are  an  enthusiast  in  training,  it  may 
be  worth  your  while  to  consider  whether  there  would 
not  be  an  advantage  in  making  the  dogs  perfect  in  the 
"  down  charge,"  as  they  would  then  cease  swimming 

from  capture  by  the  inability  of  their  foes  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  surrounding  foliage  or  herbage.  The  uniform  of  our  rifle  corps 
is  too  much  of  one  hue. 


510  DOG-BREAKING. 

the  instant  you  fired.  But  this  long  digression  about 
spaniels  has  led  us  away  from  your  pup,  which  wr 
assumed — 3 — to  be  a  pointer,  or  setter. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


LESSONS   IN 

86.  Though  you  may  not  wish  your  young  pointer  (or 
setter)  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  regular  retriever  (292), 
still  you  would  do  well  to  teach  him,  whilst  he  is  a  puppy, 
to  fetch  and  deliver  into  your  hand  anything  soft  you 
may  occasionally  throw  for  him,  or  leave  behind  you  in 
some  place  where  he  will  have  observed  you  deposit  it, 
while  he  is  following  at  your  heels.  In  a  little  time  you 
can  drop  something  without  letting  him  see  you,  and 
afterwards  send  him  back  for  it.  A  dog  thus  made,  who 
is  your  intimate  companion,  becomes  so  conversant  with 
every  article  of  your  apparel,  and  with  whatever  you 
usually  carry  about  you,  that,  should  you  accidentally 
drop  anything,  the  observant  animal  will  be  almost  cer- 
tain to  recover  it.  On  receiving  your  order  to  "  be  off 
and  find  "  he  will  accurately  retrace  your  footsteps  for 
miles  and  miles,  diligently  hunting  every  yard  of  the 
ground.  .Of  course  the  distances  to  which  you  at  first 


LESSONS  IN  "FETCHING."  511 

send  your  dog  will  be  inconsiderable,  and  you  should 
carefully  avoid  persevering  too  long  a  time,  lest  he  get 
sick  of  the  lesson.  Indeed,  in  all  his  lessons — as  well 
in-doors  as  out — but  particularly  in  this,  let  it  be  your 
aim  to  leave  off  at  a  moment  when  he  has  performed 
entirely  to  your  satisfaction  ;  that  you  may  part  the  best 
of  friends,  and  that  the  last  impression  made  by  the 
lesson  may  be  pleasing  as  well  as  correct,  from  a  grate- 
ful recollection  of  the  caresses  which  he  has  received. 
In  wild-duck  shooting  you  may  be  in  situations  where  you 
would  be  very  glad  if  the  dog  would  bring  your  bird  ; 
and  when  it  is  an  active  runner  in  cover,  I  fear  you  will 
be  more  anxious  than  I  could  wish — 221 — that  the  dog 
should  "  fetch.''  It  is  probable  that  he  will  thus  assist 
you  if  he  be  practised  as  I  have  just  advised ;  and  such 
instruction  may  lead,  years  hence,  to  his  occasionally 
bringing  you  some  dead  bird  which  he  may  come  across, 
and  which  you  otherwise  might  have  imagined  you  had 
missed,  for  its  scent  might  be  too  cold,  and  consequently 
too  changed,  for  the  dog  to  have  thought  of  regularly 
pointing  it. 

87.  Mark  my  having  saiSj  "  deliver  into  your  hand," 
that  your  young  dog  may  not  be  satisfied  with  only 
dropping,  within  your  sight,  any  bird  he  may  lift,  and 
so,  perhaps,  leave  it  on  the  other  side  of  a  trout  stream, 
as  I  have  seen  dogs  do  more  than  once,  in  spite  of  every 
persuasion  and  entreaty.  With  a  young  dog,  who  re- 
trieves, never  pick  up  a  bird  yourself,  however  close  it 
may  fall  to  you.  Invariably,  make  him  either  deliver 


512  DOG-BREAKING. 

it  into  your  hand  or  lay  it  at  your  feet.  The  former  is 
by  far  the  better  plan.  If  the  dog  has  at  one  moment 
to  drop  the  bird  at  your  will,  he  is  likely  to  fancy  him- 
self privileged  to  drop  it  at  another  time  for  his  own  con 
venience.  In  other  respects,  too,  the  former  is  the  safest 
method.  I  have  a  bitch  now  in  my  recollection,  who 
frequently  lost  her  master  slightly  winged  birdr—  ivhich 
she  had  admirably  recovered — by  dropping  them  too 
soon  on  hearing  the  report  of  a  gun,  or  coming  on  other 
game — for  off  they  ran,  and  fairly  escaped,  it  being  im- 
practicable, by  any  encouragement,  to  induce  her  to 
seek  for  a  bird  she  had  once  lifted. 

88.  I  observed  it  was  something  soft  which  you  should 
teach  your  dog  to  fetch.     Probably  you  have  seen  a 
retriever  taught  to  seek  and  bring  a  stone,  upon  which, 
in  a  delicate  manner,  the  tutor  has  spit.     Does  it  not 
stand  to  reason  that  the  stone  must  have  tended  to  givo 
his  pupil  a  hard  mouth  ?     And  what  may,  later  in  life, 
cause  him  much  misery,  in  dashing  at  a  bounding  stone, 
he  may  split  a  tooth.     Dogs  of  an  advanced  age  suffer 
more  in  their  mouths  than  most  of  us  suspect. 

89.  Should  your  pup  be  unwilling  to  enter  water,  on 
no  account  push  him  in,  under  the  mistaken  idea  that  it 
will  reconcile  him  to  the  element — it  will  but  augment 
his  fears.     Rather,  on  a  warm  day,  throw  some  biscuit 
for  him,  when  he  is  hungry,  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
bank,  where  it  is  so  shallow  as  merely  to  require  his 
wading.     Chuck  the  next  piece  a  little  further  off,  and, 
by  degrees,  increase  the  distance  until  he  gets  beyond 


LESSONS    IN    "  FETCHING."  51? 

his  depth,  and  finds  that  nature  has  given  him  useful 
swimming  powers.  On  no  occasion  will  the  example  of 
another  dog  more  assist  you.  Your  youngster's  diving 
can  never  be  of  service ;  therefore  throw  in  only  what 
will  float.  Otherwise  he  might  have  a  plunge  for 
nothing,  and  so  be  discouraged  ;  and  evidently  it  should 
be  your  constant  aim  to  avoid  doing  anything  likely  to 
shake  his  confidence  in  you. 

90.  If  you  ever  have  occasion  to  teach  a  dog  to  dive 
and  retrieve,  first  accustom  him,  on  land,  to  fetch  some- 
thing heavy,  of  a  conspicuous  color.     When  he  brings 
it  eagerly,  commence  your  diving  lesson  by  throwing  it 
into  the  shallowest  parts  of  the  stream.     Only  by  slow 
degrees  get  to  deep  water,  and  let  your  lessons  be  very 
short.      Never   chuck  in   a   stone.      The   chances   are 
twenty  to  one  that  there  are  several  at  the  bottom  not 
very  dissimilar,  and  the  young  dog  ought  not  to  be  sub- 
jected to  the  temptation  of  picking  up  one  of  them  in 
lieu  of  that  he  was  sent  for.     Should  he  on  any  occasion 
do  so,  neither  scold  nor  caress  him ;  quietly  take  what 
he  brings,  lay  it  at  your  feet',  to  show  him  that  you 
want  it  not,  and  endeavor  to  make  him  renew  his  search 
for  what  you  threw  in ;  do  this  by  signs,  and  by  encou- 
ragement  with   your  voice,   rather  than  by  chucking 
stones  in  the  right  direction,  lest   he  should  seek   for 
them  instead  of  searching  for  what  you  originally  sent 
him. 

91.  Some  teachers  make  a  young  dog  fetch  a  round 
pin  cushion,  or  a  cork  ball,  in  which  needles  are  judi- 

22* 


514  DOG-BREAKING. 

ciously  buried ;  nor  is  it  a  bad  plan,  and  there  need  be  no 
cruelty  in  it,  if  well  managed.  At  least  it  can  only  be 
cruel  once,  for  the  dog's  recollection  of  his  sufferings 
will  prevent  his  picking  up  the  offending  object  a  second 
time.  Others,  after  he  is  well  drilled  into  "fetching," 
and  takes  pleasure  in  it,  will  make  him  bring  a  bunch  of 
keys.  There  are  few  things  a  dog  is  less  willing  to  lift. 
Most  probably  they  gave  him  some  severe  rebuffs  when 
first  heedlessly  snatching  at  them;  and  the  caution 
thereby  induced  tends  to  give  him  a  careful,  tender 
mouth.  A  fencing  master,  I  knew  in  France,  had  a 
spaniel,  singularly  enough  for  a  Frenchman,  called 
"  Waterloo,"  that  would  take  up  the  smallest  needle. 

92.  When  your  dog  has  picked  up  what  you  desired, 
endeavor   to   make  him  run  to    you    quickly.       Many 
who  teach  a  dog  to  fetch,  praise   and  encourage  him 
while  he  is  bringing  what  he  was  sent  after.     Clearly 
this    is   an   error.      It   induces  the  dog  to  loiter  and 
play  with  it.     He  thinks  he  is  lauded  for  having  it  in 
his   mouth    and    carrying    it    about.      Reserve    your 
encomiums  and  caresses  -until  he  has  delivered  it.     If 
you  walk  away,  the  fear  of  your  leaving  him  will  induce 
him  to  hurry  after  you.      Let  a  dog  retrieve   ever  so 
carelessly,  still,  while  on  the  move,  he  will  rarely  drop  a 
bird. 

93.  Dogs  that  retrieve  should  be  gradually  brought  to 
Lift  heavy,  flexible  things,  and  such  as  require  a  large . 
grasp,  that  they  may  not  be  quite  unprepared  for  the 
weight  and  size  of  a  hare ;  otherwise  they  rnay  be  in 


LESSONS    IN    "  FETCHING."  515 

clined  to  drag  it  along  by  a  slight  hold  of  the  skin, 
instead  of  balancing  it  across  their  mouths.  Thus  capa- 
cious jaws  are  obviously  an  advantage  in  retrievers. 
The  French  gamekeepers,  many  of  whom  are  capital 
hands  at  making  a  retriever — excepting  that  they  do 
not  teach  the  "  down  charge," — stuff  a  hare  or  rabbit 
skin  with  straw,  and  when  the  dog  has  learned  to  fetch 
it  with  eagerness,  they  progressively  increase  its  weight 
by  burying  larger  and  larger  pieces  of  wood  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  straw :  and  to  add  to  the  difficulty  of  carry- 
ing it,  they  often  throw  it  to  the  other  side  of  a  hedge 
or  thick  copse.  If  the  dog  shows  any  tendency  to  a 
hard  mouth  they  mix  thorns  with  the  straAV. 

94.  I  ought  to  have  mentioned  sooner  that  you  should 
commence  teaching  a  puppy  to  "  fetch  "  by  shaking 
your  glove — or  anything  soft — at  him,  and  encouraging 
him  to  seize  and  drag  it  from  you.  Then  throw  it  a  yard 
or  two  off,  gradually  increasing  the  distance,  and  the  mo- 
ment he  delivers  it  to  you,  give  him  something  palata- 
ble. Should  you,  contrary  to  every  reasonable  expec- 
tation, from  his  having  no  inclination  to  romp  or  play 
with  the  glove,  not  be  able  to  persuade  him  to  pick  it 
up,  put  it  between  his  teeth — force  him  to  grasp  it  by 
tightly  pressing  his  jaws  together,  speaking  all  the 
while  impressively  to  him — scold  him  if  he  is  obstinate  i 
and  refuses  to  take  hold  of  the  glove.  After  a. little 
time  retire  a  few  paces,  keeping  one  hand  under  his 
mouth — to  prevent  his  dropping  the  glove, — while  you 
lead  or  drag  him  with  the  other.  When  you  halt,  be 


516  DOG-BREAKING . 

sure  not  to  take  the  glove  immediately  from  him — 
oblige  him  to  continue  holding  it  for  at  least  a  minute 
— lest  he  should  learn  to  relinquish  his  grip  too  soon, — 
before  you  make  him  yield  at  the  command  "  give ;" 
then  bestow  a  reward.  Should  he  drop  it  before  he  is 
ordered  to  deliver  it,  replace  it  in  his  mouth  and  again 
retreat  some  steps  before  ordering  him  to  "  give."  He 
will  soon  follow  with  it  at  your  heels.  If  you  have  suf- 
ficient perseverance  you  can  thus  make  him  earn  all  his 
daily  food.  Hunger  will  soon  perfect  him  in  the  lesson, 
Observe  that  there  are  four  distinct  stages  in  this  trick 
of  carrying — the  first,  making  the  dog  grasp  and  retain 
— the  second,  inducing  him  to  bring,  following  at  your 
heels — the  third,  teaching  him  not  to  quit  his  hold  when 
you  stop — the  fourth,  getting  him  to  deliver  into  your 
hands  on  your  order.  The  great  advantage  of  a  sport- 
ing dog's  acquiring  this  trick  is  that  it  accustoms  him  to 
deliver  into  your  hands;  and  it  often  happens  that  you 
must  thus  teach  a  dog  to  "  carry  "  as  a  preparative  to 
teaching  him  to  "  fetch."  It  certainly  will  be  judicious 
in  you  to  do  so,  if  the  dog  is  a  lively,  riotous  animal ;  for 
the  act  of  carrying  the  glove — or  stick,  &c. — quietly  at 
your  heels  will  sober  him,  and  make  him  less  likely  to 
run  off  with  it  instead  of  delivering  it  when  you  are 
teaching  him  to  fetch.  As  soon  as  he  brings  the  srlove 
tolerably  well,  try  him  with  a  short  stick.  You  will 
wish  him  not  to  seize  the  end  of  it,  lest  he  should  learn 
to  "  drag  "  instead  of  "  carry."  Therefore  fix  pegs  or 
wires  into  holes  drilled  at  right  angles  to  each  other 


LESSONS  IN  "FETCHING."  517 

at  the  extremities  of  the  stick.  He  will  then  only  grasp 
it  near  the  middle. 

95.  This    drill    should    be    further    extended    if    a 

REGULAR   LAND   RETRIEVER 

be  your  pupil.  Throw  dead  birds  of  any  kind  for  him 
to  bring — of  course  one  at  a  time, — being  on  the  alert 
to  check  him  whenever  he  grips  them  too  severely.  If 
he  persists  in  disfiguring  them,  pass  a  few  blunted  knit- 
ting needles  through  them  at  right  angles  to  one  another. 
When  he  fetches  with  a  tender  mouth,  you  will  be  able 
to  follow  up  this  method  of  training  still  further  by 
letting  him  "  road  " — or  "  foot,"  as  it  is  often  termed — 
a  rabbit  in  high  stubble,  one — or  both,  if  a  strong  buck 
— of  whose  hind  legs  you  will  have  previously  bandaged 
in  the  manner  described  in  56.  Be  careful  not  to  let 
him  see  you  turn  it  out,  lest  he  watch  your  proceedings 
and  endeavor  to  "  hunt  by  eye."  Indeed  it  might  be 
better  to  employ  another  person  to  turn  it  out.  Keep 
clear  of  woods  for  some  time — the  cross  scents  would 
puzzle  him.  If  by  any  chance  you  have  a  winged 
pheasant  or  partridge,  let  him  retrieve  it.  You  will 
not,  I  presume,  at  the  commencement  select  a  morning 
when  there  is  a  dry  cold  wind  from  the  north-east,  but 
probably  you  will  wish  to  conclude  his  initiatory  lessons 
on  days  which  you  judge  to  possess  least  scent.  The 
more  he  has  been  practised  as  described  in  39,  the  better 
will  he  work  ;  for  he  cannot  keep  his  nose  too  persever- 


518  DOG-BKEAKING. 

ingly  close  to  the  ground.  With  reference  to  the  in. 
structions  in  that  paragraph,  I  will  here  remark,  that 
before  you  let  the  dog  stoop  to  hunt,  you  should  have 
placed  him  by  signal  (31)  near  the  spot  from  which  you 
had  begun  dragging  the  bread.  In  paragraph  190  an 
instance  is  given  of  the  manner  in  which  a  dog  who  re- 
trieves should  be  put  upon  a  scent ;  and  why  that  mode 
is  adopted  is  explained  in  184. 

96.  It  is  quite  astonishing  how  well  an  old  dog  that 
retrieves  knows  when  a  bird  is  struck.     He  instantly 
detects  any  hesitation  or  uncertainty  of  movement,  and 
for  a  length  of  time  will  watch  its  flight  with  the  utmost 
eagerness,  and,  steadily  keeping  his  eye  on  it,  will  as 
surely  as  yourself  mark  its  fall.     To  induce  a  young  dog 
to  become  thus  observant,  always  let  him  perceive  that 
you  watch  a  wounded  bird  with  great  eagerness;  his 
imitative  instinct  will  soon  lead  him  to  do   the  same. 
This  faculty  of  observation  is  particularly  serviceable  in 
a  water  retriever.     It  enables  him  to  swim  direct  to  the 
crippled  bird,  and,  besides  the  saving  of  time,  the  less 
he  is  in  the  water  in  severe  weather,  the  less  likely  is  he 
to  suifer  from  rheumatism. 

97.  As  an  initiatory  lesson  in  making  him  observant 
of  the  flight  and  fall  of  birds,  place  a  few  pigeons,  or 
other  birds,  during  his  absence,  each  in  a  hole  covered 
with  a  tile.     Afterwards  come  upon  these  spots  appa- 
rently unexpectedly,  and,  kicking  away  the  tiles — or, 
what   is   better,    dragging   them    off  by   a   previously 
adjusted  string, — shoot  the  birds  for  him  to  bring ;  it 


LESSONS  IN  "FETCHING."  519 

being  clearly  understood  that  he  has  been  previouslv 
tutored  into  having  no  dread  of  the  gun.  As  he  will 
have  been  taught  to  search  where  bidden — iv.  to  vin. 
of  119, — nothing  now  remains  but  to  take  him  out  on  a 
regular  campaign,  when  the  fascinating  scent  of  game 
will  infallibly  make  him  search — I  do  not  say  deliver — 
with  great  eagerness.  When  once  he  then  touches  upon 
a  scent,  leave  him  entirely  to  himself — not  a  word,  not 
a  sign.  Possibly  his  nose  may  not  be  able  to  follow  the 
bird,  but  it  is  certain  that  yours  cannot.  Occasionally 
you  may  be  able  to  help  an  old  retriever  (296),  but 
rarely,  if  ever,  a  young  one.  Your  interference,  nay, 
probably  your  mere  presence,  would  so  excite  him  as  to 
make  him  overrun  the  scent.  Remain,  therefore,  quietly 
where  you  are  until  he  rejoins  you. 

98.  When  we  see  a  winged  pheasant  racing  off,  most 
of  us  are  too  apt  to  assist  a  young  dog,  forgetting  that  we 
thereby  teach  him,  instead  of  devoting  his  whole  atten- 
tion to  work  out  the  scent,  to  turn  to  us  for  aid  on  occa- 
sions when  it  may  be  impossible  to  give  it.    When  a 
dog  is  hunting  for  birds,  he  should  frequently  look  to 
the  gun  for  signals,  but  when  he  is  on  them  he  should 
trust  to  nothing  but  his  own  scenting  faculties. 

99.  If,  from  a  judicious  education,  a  retriever  pup  has 
had  a  delight  in  "  fetching  "  rapidly,  it  is  not  likely  he 
will   loiter   on  the  way  to  mouth  his  birds;    but   the 
fatigue  of  carrying  a  hare  a  considerable  distance  may, 
perhaps,  induce  a  young  dog  to  drop  it  in  order  to  take 
a  moment's  rest.     There  is  a  risk  that  when  doing  so  he 


520  DOG-BREAKING.      p 

may  be  tempted  to  lick  the  blood,  and,  finding  it  pala- 
table, be  led  to  maul  the  carcase.  You  see,  therefore, 
the  judiciousness  of  employing  every  means  in  your 
power  to  ensure  his  feeling  anxious  to  deliver  quickly, 
and  I  know  not  what  plan  will  answer  better — though  it 
sounds  sadly  unsentimental — than  to  have  some  pieces 
of  hard  boiled  liver*  at  hand  to  bestow  upon  him  the 
moment  he  surrenders  his  game,  until  he  is  thoroughly 
confirmed  in  an  expeditious  delivery.  Never  give  him 
a  piece,  however  diligently  he  may  have  searched,  un- 
less he  succeeds  in  bringing.  When  you  leave  off  these 
rewards  do  so  gradually.  The  invariable  bestowal  of 
such  dainties  during,  at  least,  the  retriever's  first  season, 
will  prevent  his  ever  dropping  a  bird  on  hearing  the 
report  of  a  gun — as  many  do — in  order  to  search  for 
the  later  killed  game. 

100.  Should  a  young  retriever  evince  any  wish  to  as- 
sist the  cook  by  plucking  out  the  feathers  of  a  bird ;  or 
from  natural  vice  or  mismanagement  before  he  came  into 
your  possession,!  show  any  predisposition  to  taste  blood, 
take  about  two  feet  (dependent  upon  the  size  of  the 
dog's  head)  of  iron  wire,  say  the  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in 

*  A  drier  and  cleaner  article  than  you  may  suppose,  and  which 
can  be  carried  not  inconveniently  in  a  Mackintosh,  or  oil-skin  bag 
— a  toilet  sponge  bag. 

f  If  a  retriever  has  the  opportunity,  while  prowling  about,  of  gnaw- 
ing hare  or  rabbit-skins  thrown  aside  by  a  slovenly  cook,  it  will 
not  be  unnatural  in  him,  when  he  is  hungry,  to  wish  to  appropriate 
to  himself  the  hide,  if  not  the  interior,  of  the  animals  he  is  lifting. 


LESSONS    IN    "  FETCHING."  521 

diameter,  sufficiently  flexible  for  you,  but  not  for  him  to 
bend.  Shape  this  much  into  the  form  of  the  letter  U, 
supposing  the  extremities  to  be  joined  by  a  straight  line. 
Place  the  straight  part  in  the  dog's  mouth,  and  passing 
the  other  over  his  head  and  ears,  retain  it  in  position  by 
a  light  throat  lash  passed  through  a  turn  in 
the  wire,  as  here  roughly  represented.  The 
flexibility  of  the  wire  will  enable  you  to  ad- 
just it  with  ease  to  the  shape  of  his  head. 
When  in  the  kennel  he  ought  to  be  occasionally  thus 
bitted,  that  he  may  not  fret  when  he  is  first  hunted  with 
it.  It  will  not  injure  his  teeth  or  much  annoy  him  if  it 
lie  on  his  grinders  a  little  behind  the  tushes. 

101.  Sometimes  a  retriever,  notwithstanding   every 
encouragement,  will  not  pursue  a  winged  bird   with 
sufficient  rapidity.     In  this  case  associate  him  for  a  few 
days  with  a  quicker  dog,  whose  example  will  to  a  cer- 
tainty animate  him  and  increase  his  pace.     It  is  true  that 
when  he  is  striving  to  hit  off  a  scent  he  cannot  work  too 
patiently  and  perseveringly ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
moment  he  is  satisfied  he  is  on  it,  he  cannot  follow  too 
^•apidly.     A  winged  bird,  when  closely  pressed,  seems, 
through  nervousness,  to  emit  an  increasing  stream  of 
scent ;  therefore,  though  it  may  sound  paradoxical,  the 
retriever's  accelerated  pace  then  makes  him  (his  nose 
being  close  to  the  ground)  the  less  likely  to  overrun  it ; 
and  the  faster  he  pursues  the  less  ground  must  he  dis- 
turb, for  the  shorter  will  be  the  chase. 

102.  Retrievers  are  generally  taught  to  rush  in  the 


522  DOG-BREAKING. 

instant  a  bird  falls.  This  plan,  like  most  other  things, 
has  its  advocates  and  its  opponents.  I  confess  to  being 
one  of  the  latter,  for  I  cannot  believe  that  in  the  long 
run  it  is  the  best  way  to  fill  the  bag.  I  think  it  certain 
that  more  game  is  lost  by  birds  being  flushed  while  the 
guns  are  unloaded,  than  could  be  lost  from  the  scent 
cooling  during  the  short  period  the  dog  remains  at  the 
"  down  charge."  Unquestionably  some  retrievers  have 
so  good  a  nose,  that  the  delay  would  not  lead  to  their 
missing  any  wounded  game  however  slightly  struck; 
and  the  delay  has  this  great  advantage,  that  it  helps  to 
keep  the  retriever  under  proper  subjection,  and  dimi- 
nishes his  anxiety  to  rush  to  every  part  of  the  line  where 
a  gun  may  be  fired,  instead  of  remaining  quietly  at  his 
master's  heels  until  signalled  to  take  up  the  scent.  More- 
over, a  retriever  by  neglecting  the  "  down  charge,"  sets 
an  example  to  the  pointers  or  setters  who  may  be  his 
companions,  which  it  is  always  more  or  less  difficult  to 
prevent  the  dogs,  if  young,  from  following.  But  I  once 
shot  over  a  retriever  which  I  could  hardly  wish  not  to 
have  "  run  on  shot."  On  a  bird  being  hit  he  started  off 
with  the  greatest  impetuosity,  kept  his  eye  immovably 
fixed  on  its  flight,  and  possessed  such  speed  that  a  winged 
bird  scarcely  touched  the  ground  ere  it  was  pinned.  He 
would,  too,  often  seize  a  slightly  injured  hare  before  it 
had  acquired  its  best  pace.  The  pursuit  so  soon  termi- 
nated that  possibly  less  game  escaped  being  fired  at  than 
if  the  retriever  had  not  stirred  until  the  guns  were  re- 
loaded. On  a  miss  he  was  never  allowed — indeed  ap- 


LESSONS    IN    "  FETCHING."  523 

peared  little  inclined — to  quit  "  heel."  Of  course  a  train- 
er's trouble  is  decreased  by  not  breaking  to  the  "  down 
charge,"  which  may  induce  some  to  recommend  the 
plan ;  though  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  this  class  of  dogs 
is  more  easily  than  any  other  perfected  in  it,  because  the 
breaker  nearly  always  possesses  the  power  of  treading 
upon  or  seizing  the  checkcord  the  instant  a  bird  is  sprung. 

103.  The  nature  of  your  shooting  will  much  influence 
you  in  deciding  which  of  the  two  methods  to  adopt ; 
but  should  you  select  the  one  which  the  generality  of 
good  sportsmen  consider  to  be  most  according  to  rule, 
and  to  possess  the  greatest  beauty,  viz.,  the   "  down 
charge,"  rather  lose  any  bird,  however  valuable,  so  long 
as  your  retriever  remains  young,  than  put  him  on  the 
"  foot "  a  second  before  you  have  reloaded.   Undoubtedly 
it  ought  to  be  taught  to  every  dog  broken  for  sale,  as  the 
purchaser  can  always  dispense  with  it  should  he  judge  it 
unnecessary — it  can  soon  be  untaught.     It  is  clear  that 
not  "quitting  heel "  until  ordered  is  tantamount  to  the 
regular  "  down  charge,"  but  I  think  the  last  is  the  easiest 
to  enforce  constantly.     It  is  the  more  decided  step. 

104.  Large  retrievers   are  less  apt   to   mouth   their 
game  than   small   ones :   but  very  heavy  dogs  are  not 
desirable,  for  they  soon  tire.     And  yet  a  certain  medium 
is  necessary,  for  they  ought  to  have  sufficient  strength 
to   carry   a  hare   with   ease  through  a  thicket,  when 
balanced  in  their  jaws,  and  be  able  to  jump  a  fence  with 
her.     They   should   run   mute.     And  they   should  be 
thick   coated:  unless   they  are  so, — I  do  not  say  long 


524  DOG-BREAKING. 

coated, — they  cannot  be  expected  to  dash  into  close 
cover,  or  plunge  into  water  after  a  duck  or  snipe  when 
the  thermometer  is  near  zero. 

]  05.  It  is  usually  allowed  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
best  land  retrievers  are  bred  from  a  cross  between  the 
setter  and  the  Newfoundland — or  the  strong  spaniel 
and  Newfoundland.  I  do  not  mean  the  heavy  Labrador, 
whose  weight  and  bulk  is  valued  because  it  adds  to  his 
power  of  draught,  nor  the  Newfoundland,  increased  in 
size  at  Halifax  and  St.  John's  to  suit  the  taste  of  the 
English  purchaser, — but  the  far  slighter  dog  reared  by 
the  settlers  on  the  coast, — a  dog  that  is  quite  as  fond  of 
water  as  of  land,  and  which  in  almost  the  severest  part 
of  a  North  American  winter  will  remain  on  the  edge  of  a 
rock  for  hours  together,  watching  intently  for  anything 
the  passing  waves  may  carry  near  him.  Such  a  dog  is 
highly  prized.  Without  his  aid  the  farmer  would  secure 
but  few  of  the  many  wild  ducks  he  shoots  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year.  The  patience  with  which  he  waits 
for  a  shot  on  the  top  of  a  high  cliff— until  the  numerous 
flock  sail  leisurely  underneath — would  be  fruitless, 
did  not  his  noble  dog  fearlessly  plunge  in  from  the 
greatest  height,  and  successfully  bring  the  slain  to 
shore. 

106.  Probably  a  cross  from  the  heavy,  large  headed 
setter,  who,  though  so  wanting  in  pace,  has  an  exquisite 
nose;  and  the  true  Newfoundland,  makes  the  bes^ 
retriever.  Nose  is  the  first  desideratum.  A  breaker 
may  doubt  which  of  his  pointers  or  setters  possesses  the 


LESSONS  IN  "FETCHING."  525 

greatest  olfactory  powers,  but  a  short  trial   tells  him 
which  of  his  retrievers  has  the  finest  nose. 

107.  Making  a  first-rate  retriever  is  a  work  of  time, 
but  his  being   thoroughly  grounded  in   the   required 
initiatory  lessons  facilitates  matters  surprisingly.     Indeed 
after  having  been  taught  the  "drop" — 22,  24,  25, — to 
"fetch" — 92  to  94 — and  "seek  dead"  in   the  precise 
direction  he  is  ordered — xi  of  119, — almost  any  kind  of 
dog  can  be  made  to  retrieve.     The  better  his  nose  is,  the 
better  of  course  he  will  retrieve.     Sagacity,  good  tem- 
per, quickness  of  comprehension,  a  teachable  disposition^ 
and  all  cultivated  qualities  are  almost  as  visibly  trans- 
mitted to  offspring  as  shape  and  action ;  therefore  the 
«tronger  a  dog's  hereditary  instincts  lead  him  to  retrieve, 
the  less  will  be  the  instructor's  trouble ;  and  the  more 
obedient  he  is  made  to  the  signals  of  the  hand,  the  more 
readily  will  he  be  put  upon  a  scent.     Dogs  that  are  by 
nature  quick  rangers  do  not  take  instinctively  to  retriev- 
ing.    They  have  not  naturally  sufficient  patience  to  work 
out  a  feeble  scent.     They  are  apt  to  overrun  it.     A  really 
good  retriever  will  pursue  a  wounded  bird  or  hare  as 
accurately  as  a  bloodhound  will  a  deer  or  man  ;  and  if 
he  is  put  on  a  false  scent,  I  mean  a  scent  of  uninjured 
flick  or  feather,  he  will  not  follow  it  beyond  a  few  steps 
— experience  will  have  shown  him  the  inutility  of  so 
doing.     (297.) 

108.  Avail  yourself  of  the  first  opportunity  to  make 
a  young  retriever  lift  a  woodcock,  lest  in  after  life,  from 
novel  scent,  h«  decline  touching  it,  as  many  dogs  have 


526  DOG-BREAKING. 

done  to  the  great  annoyance  of  their  masters.     Ditto, 
with  the  delicate  landrail. 

109.  The  directions  given  about  "fetching"  led  me 
to  talk  of  retrievers;  and,  having  touched  upon  the 
subject,  I  thought  it  right  not  to  quit  it,  until  I  had 
offered  the  best  advice  in  my  power.  I  have  but  one 
more  recommendation  to  add  before  I  return  to  your 
setter — or  pointer — pup:  carefully  guard  a  young  re- 
triever— indeed  any  dog  bred  for  the  gun — from  being 
ever  allowed  to  join  a  rat-hunt.  Rat-hunting  would  tend 
to  destroy  his  tenderness  of  mouth,  nay,  possibly  make 
him  mangle  his  game.  But  this  is  not  all,  It  has  often 
gradually  led  good  dogs  to  decline  lifting  hares  or  rab- 
bits, apparently  regarding  them  more  in  the  light  of 
vermin  than  of  game.  Some  dogs,  however,  that  are 
not  bad  retrievers,  are  capital  ratters,  but  they  are 
exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  Indeed,  you  should 
never  permit  your  dog  to  retrieve  any  kind  of  ground  or 
winged  vermin.  If  the  creature  were  only  wounded  it 
might  turn  upon  him.  He  in  self-defence  would  give  it  a 
grip,  and  he  might  thus  be  led  to  follow  the  practice  on 
less  pardonable  occasions.  Remember,  that  a  winged 
bittern  or  heron  might  peck  out  his  eye. 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    OUT   OF    DOORS.  527 

CHAPTER  V. 

INITIATORY  LESSONS  OUT  OF  DOORS. TRICKS. 

110.  As  I  before  observed,  you  can  practise  most  of 
the  initiatory  lessons  in  your  country  walks.    Always  put 
something  alluring  in  your  pocket  to  reward  your  pupil 
for  prompt  obedience.     Do  not  take  him  out  unnecessa- 
rily in  bad  weather.     On  no  account  let  him  amuse  him- 
self by  scraping  acquaintance  with  every  idle  cur  he 
meets  on  the  way ;  nor  permit  him  to  gambol  about  the 
lanes.     Let  him  understand  by  your  manner  that  there 
is  business  at  hand.      Never  let  him  enter  a  field  before 
you.     Always  keep  him  at  your  heels,  until  you  give 
him  the  order  to  be  off.     You  will  find  him  disposed  to 
presume  and  encroach.     According  to  the  old  adage, 
"  Give  him  an  inch,  and  he  will  take  an  ell."     He  will 
be  endeavoring  to  lead  rather  than  to  follow,  and,  if  he 
fancies  himself  unobserved,  he  will  most  perseveringly 
steal  inch  upon  inch  in  advance.     Be  ever  on  the  watch, 
ready  to  check  the  beginning  of  every  act   of  disobe- 
dience.    Implicit  obedience  in  trifles  will  insure  it  in 
things  of  more  importance. 

111.  For  some  time,  but  the  period  is  uncertain — say 
from  his  being  eight  months  old  until  double  that  age* — 

*  I  once  had  a  pointer  pup  whose  dam  was  broken  in  (aftor  a 
fashion)  and  regularly  shot  to  when  seven  months  old.     Without 


528  DOG-BKEAKING. 

he  will  merely  gallop  and  frisk  about,  and  probably  will 
take  diligently  to  persecuting  butterflies.  Let  him 
choose  what  he  likes.  Don't  think  he  will  prize  small 
beer,  when  he  can  get  champagne.  He  will  leave  off 
noticing  inferior  articles  as  he  becomes  conversant  with 
the  taste  of  game.  It  is  now  your  main  object  to  get 
him  to  hunt ;  no  matter  what,  so  that  he  is  not  per- 
petually running  to  "  heel."  And  the  more  timid  he  is 
the  more  you  must  let  him  chase,  and  amuse  himself  as 
his  fancy  dictates.  When  you  see  that  he  is  really  oc- 
cupying himself  with  more  serious  hunting,  eagerly 
searching  for  small  birds,  especially  larks,  you  must  begin 
instructing  him  how  to  quarter  his  ground  to  the  greatest 
advantage,  under  your  constant  direction.  Should  any 
one  join  you,  or  anything  occur  likely  to  prevent  your 
giving  him  your  strictest  attention,  on  no  account  per- 
mit him  to  range — keep  him  to  "  heel "  until  you  are 
quite  prepared  to  watch  and  control  all  his  movements. 
Hunt  him  where  he  is  least  likely  to  find  game,  for  he 
will  take  to  quartering  his  ground  far  more  regularly, 
under  your  guidance,  where  his  attention,  is  least  dis- 
tracted by  any  scent.  The  taint  of  partridge  would  be 
almost  sure  to  make  him  deviate  from  the  true  line  on 
which  you  are  anxious  he  should  work.  Labor  now 
diligently,  if  possible  daily,  though  not  for  many  hours 

injury  to  her  constitution,  she  could  not  have  been  hunted  for  more 
than  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time.  She  ought  not  to  have  been  taken 
fc>  the  field  for  regular  use  until  fully  a  year  old. 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    OUT    OF   DOOES.  529 

a  day ;    for  be  assured  a  good  method  of  ranging  can 
only  be  implanted  when  he  is  young. 

112.  Should  your  pup  be  so  long  before  taking  to 
hunting  that  your  patience  becomes  exhausted,  let  an 
older  dog  accompany  you  a  few  times.     When  he  finds 
birds,  gradually  bring  the  young  one  upon  them  from 
leeward,  and  let  him  spring  them.     Encourage  him  to 
sniff  the  ground  they  have  quitted,  and  allow  him  to  run 
riot  on  the  haunt.     After  that  enjoyment,  the  example 
of  the  old  dog  will  most  likely  soon  make  him  range, 
and  employ  his  nose  in  seeking  a  repetition  of  what  has 
afforded  him  such  unexpected  delight.     If  it  does  not, 
and  the  old  dog  is  steady  and  good-humored  enough 
to  bear  the  annoyance  cheerfully,  couple  the  young  one 
to  him.     Before  this  he  should  have  learned  to  work 
kindly  in  couples — 44.     But  I  am  getting  on  too  fast, 
and  swerving  from  the  track  I  had  marked  for  myself. 
By-and-by  I  will  tell  you  how  I  think  you  should  instruct 
your  youngster  to  quarter  his  ground  to  the  best  advan- 
tage— 12V,  &c. 

113.  Common  sense  shows  that  you  ought  not  to  cor- 
rect your  dog  for  disobedience,  unless  you  are  certain 
that  he  knows  his  fault.      Now  you  will  see  that  the  ini- 
tiatory lessons  I  recommend  must  give  him  that  know- 
ledge, for  they  explain  to  him  the  meaning  of  almost  all 
the  signs  and  words  of  command  you  will  have  to  em- 
ploy when  shooting.     That  knowledge,  too,  is  imparted 
by  a  system  of  rewards,  not  punishments.     Your  object 
is  not  to  break  his  spirit,  but  his  self-will.     With  his 

23 


530  DOG-BREAKING. 

obedience  you  gain  his  affection.  The  greatest4iardship 
admissible,  in  this  early  stage  of  his  education,  is  a  strong 
jerk  of  the  checkcord,  and  a  sound  rating,  given,  when 
necessary,  in  the  loudest  tone  and  sternest  manner ;  and 
it  is  singular  how  soon  he  will  discriminate  between  the 
reproving  term  "  bad  " — to  which  he  will  sensitively  at- 
tach a  feeling  of  shame — and  the  encouraging  word 
fct  good  " — expressions  that  will  hereafter  have  a  powerful 
influence  over  him,  especially  if  he  be  of  a  gentle,  timid 
disposition. 

114.  In  educating  such  a  dog — and  there  are  many 
of  the  kind,  likely  to  turn  out  well,  if  they  are  judicious- 
ly managed,  often  possessing  noses  so  exquisite — perhaps 
I  ought  to  say  cautious — as  nearly  to  make  up  for  their 
general  want  of  constitution  and  powers  of  endurance — 
it  is  satisfactory  to  think  that  all  these  lessons  can  be  incul- 
cated without  in  the  slightest  degree  depressing  his  spirit. 
On  the  contrary,  increasing  observation  and  intelligence 
will  gradually  banish  his  shyness  and  distrust  of  his  own 
powers  ;  for  he  will  be  sensible  that  he  is  becoming  more 
and  more  capable  of  comprehending  your  wishes,  and 
therefore  less  likely  to  err  and  be  punished  (245). 

115.  I  fear  you  may  imagine  that  I  am  attributing 
too  much  reasoning  power  to   him.      You  would   not 
think  so  if  you  had  broken  in  two  or  three  dogs.     What 
makes  dog-teaching,  if  not  very  attractive,  at  least  not 
laborious,  is  the  fact  that  the  more  you  impart  to  a  dog, 
the  more  readily  will  he  gain  further  knowledge.     After 
teaching  a  poodle  or  a  terrier  a  few  tricks,  you  will  be 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    OUT    OF   DOORS.  531 

surprised  to  see  with  what  increasing  facility  he  will  ac- 
quire each  successive  accomplishment.  It  is  this  circum- 
stance which,  I  think,  should  induce  you  not  to  regard 
as  chimerical  the  perfection  of  which  I  purpose  to  speak 
by-and-by,  under  the  head  of  "  refinements  in  breaking." 
Indeed  I  only  adopt  this  distinction  hi  deference  to  what 
I  cannot  but  consider  popular  prejudice;  for  I  well 
know  many  will  regard  such  accomplishments  as  alto- 
gether superfluous.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  an  art  which 
might  easily  be  made  much  more  perfect,  is  allowed, 
almost  by  universal  suffrance,  to  stop  short  just  at  the 
point  where  excellence  is  within  grasp. 

116.  Far  more   dogs   would  be  well-broken,  if  men 
would  but  keep  half  the  number  they  usually  possess. 
The  owner  of  many  dogs  cannot  shoot  often  enough 
over  them  to  give  them  great  experience. 

117.  I  am,  however,  wandering  from  our  immediate 
subject.     Let  us  return  to  the  lecture,  and  consider  how 
much  knowledge  your  pupil  will  have  acquired  by  these 
preliminary  instructions.     We  shall  find  that,  with  the 
exception   of  a  systematically  confirmed  range,  really 
little  remains  to  be  learned,  save  what  his  almost  un? 
aided  instinct  will  tell  him. 

118.  For  it  is  wonderful  how  much  you  can  eflect  by 
initiatory  instruction  :  indeed,  afterwards,  you  will  have 
little  else  to  do  than  teach  and  confirm  your  dog  in  a 
judicious  range — his  own  sagacity  and  increasing  expe- 
rience will  be  his  principal  guides — for  consider   how 
much  you  will  have  taught  him. 


532  DOG-BREAKING. 

119.  He  will  know — 

i.  That  he  is  to  pay  attention  to  his  whistle — the 
whistle  that  you  design  always  to  use  to  him. 

,  I  mean  that,  when  he  hears  one,  low  blast  on  his 
whistle  he  is  to  look  to  you  for  orders,  but  not 
necessarily  run  towards  you,  unless  he  is  out  of 
sight,  or  you  continue  whistling  (18). 

n.  That  "  Toho,"  or  the  right  arm  raised  nearly  per- 
pendicularly, means  that  he  is  to  stand  still 
(19  to  21). 

in.  That  "  Drop,"  or  the  left  arm  raised  nearly  perpen- 
dicularly, or  the  report  of  a  gun,  means  that  he 
is  to  crouch  down  with  his  head  close  to  the 
ground,  between  his  feet,  however  far  off  he  may 
be  ranging.  Greater  relaxation  in  the  position 
may  be  permitted  after  he  has  been  a  little  time 
shot  over  (22  to  26). 

IV.  That  "On,"— the  shortest  word  for  "hie-on," — or 
the  forward  underhand  swing  of  the  right  hand, 
signifies  that  he  is  to  advance  in  a  forward  direc- 
tion— the  direction  in  which  you  are  waving. 
This  signal  is  very  useful.  It  implies  that  you 
want  the  dog  to  hunt  ahead  of  you.  You  em- 
ploy it  also  when  you  are  alongside  of  him  at  his 
point,  and  are  desirous  of  urging  him  to  follow 
up  the  running  bird  or  birds,  and  press  to  a  rise. 
If  he  push  on  too  eagerly,  you  restrain  him  by 
slightly  raising  the  right  hand — XIT.  of  this  para- 
graph (18  to  21). 


INITIATORY    LESSONS    OUT    OF   DOOKS.  533 

7.  That  a  wave  of  the  right  arm  and  hand — the  arm 
being  fully  extended  and  well  to  the  right — from 
left  to  right,  means  that  he  is  to  hunt  to  the 
right.  Some  men  wave  the  iSft  hand  across  the 
body  from  left  to  right,  as  a  direction  to  the  dog 
to  hunt  to  the  right;  but  that  signal  is  not  so 
apparent  at  a  distance  as  the  one  I  have  described 
(32). 

vi.  That  a  wave  of  the  left  arm  from  right  to  left — 
the  arm  being  fully  extended  and  well  to  the  left 
— means  that  he  is  to  hunt  to  the  left  (33). 
vn.  That  the  "  Beckon,"  the  wave  of  the  right  hand 
towards  you,  indicates  that  he  is  to  hunt  towards 
you  (33.  See  also  67). 

nil.  That  the  word  "Heel,"  or  a  wave  of  the  right 
hand  to  the  rear — the  reverse  of  the  underhand 
cricket-bowler's  swing, — implies  that  he  is  to  give 
up  hunting,  and  go  directly  close  to  your  heels 
(40). 

ix.  That  "  Fence"  means  that  he  is  not  to  leave  the 
place  where  you  are.  After  being  so  checked  a 
few  times  when  he  is  endeavoring  to  quit  the 
field,  he  will  understand  the  word  to  be  an  order 
not  to  "  break  fence"  (42,  43). 

x.  That  "  Find"  or  "  Seek*'  means  that  he  is  to  search 
for  something  which  he  will  have  great  gratifica- 
tion in  discovering.  When  he  is  in  the  field  he 
will  quickly  understand  this  to  be  game  (30,  31). 

XT.  That  "  Dead'' — which  it  would  be  well  to  accom- 


534  DOG-BREAKING. 

pany  with  the  signal  to  "  Heel,"  means  that 
there  is  something  not  far  off,  which  he  would 
have  great  satisfaction  in  finding.  On  hearing  it, 
he  will  come  to  you,  and  await  your  signals  in- 
structing him  in  what  direction  he  is  to  hunt  for 
it.  When,  by  signals,  you  have  put  him  as  near 
as  you  can  upon  the  spot  where  you  think  the 
bird  has  fallen,  you  will  say  "  Find ;"  for,  until 
you  say  that  word,  he  ought  to  be  more  occupied 
in  attending  to  your  signals  than  in  searching  for 
the  bird.  When  you  have  shot  a  good  many 
birds  to  him,  if  he  is  within  sight,  in  order  to 
work  more  silently,  omit  saying  "  Dead,"  only 
signal  to  him  to  go  to  "  Heel"  (18,  30,  31,  40). 

xn.  That  "  Care*'  means  that  he  is  near  that  for  which 
he  is  hunting.  This  word,  used  with  the  right 
hand  slightly  raised — the  signal  for  the  "  Toho," 
only  not  exhibited  nearly  so  energetically — will 
soon  make  him  comprehend  that  game  is  near 
him,  and  that  he  is  therefore  to  hunt  cautiously. 
You  will  use  it  when  your  young  dog  is  racing 
too  fast  among  turnips  or  potatoes  (35). 
xtn.  That  "  Up"  means  that  he  is  to  sniff  with  his  nose 
high  in  the  air  for  that  of  which  he  is  in  search 
(37). 

*iv.  That  "Away" — or  "Gone,"  or  "Flown"— is  an 
indication  that  the  thing  for  which  he  was  hunt- 
ing and  of  which  he  smells  the  taint,  is  no  longer 
there.  This  word  is  not  to  be  used  in  the  field 


INITIATORY   LESSONS    OUT   OF   DOORS.  535 

until  your  young  dog  has  gained  some  experience 
(41). 

xv.  That  "  Ware" — pronounced  "  War" — is  a  general 
order  to  desist  from  whatever  he  may  be  doing. 
"  No"  is  perhaps  a  better  word ;  it  can  be  pro- 
nounced more  distinctly  and  energetically.  If 
the  command  is  occasionally  accompanied  with 
the  cracking  of  your  whip,  its  meaning  will  soon 
be  understood  (43). 

xvi.  He  will  also  know  the  distinction  between  the 
chiding  term  "  Bad"  and  the  encouraging  word 
"  Good ;  and,  moreover,  be  sensible,  from  your 
look  and  manner,  whether  you  are  pleased  or 
angry  with  him.  Dogs,  like  children,  are  phy- 
siognomists (36,  end  of  104). 

120.  You  will  perceive  that  you  are  advised  to  use  the 
right  hand  more  than  the  left.     This  is  only  because  the 
left  hand  is  so  generally  employed  in  carrying  the  gun. 

121.  You  will  also  observe,  that  when   the  voice  is 
employed — and  this  should  be  done  only  when  the  dog 
will  not  obey  your  signals — I  have  recommended  you  to 
make  use  of  but  one  word.       Why  should  you  say 
"  Come  to  heel,"  "  Ware  breaking  fence,'*  "  Have  a 
care  ?"     If  you  speak  in  sentences,  you  may  at  times  \ 
unconsciously  vary  the  words   of  the  sentence,  or  the  1 
emphasis  on  any  word ;  and  as  it  is  only  by  the  sound 
that  you  should  expect  a  dog  to  be  guided,  the  more  de- 
fined and  distinct  in  sound  the  several  commands  ars 
the  better. 


536  DOG-BREAKING. 

122.  This  consideration  leads  to  the  remark  that,  as, 
by  nearly  universal  consent,   "  Toho"  is  the  word  em- 
ployed to  tell  a  dog  to  point,  the  old  rule  is  clearly  a 
judicious  one,  never  to  call  him  "  Ponto,"  "  Sancho,"  or 
by  any  name  ending  in  "  o."     Always,  too,  choose  one 
that  can  be  hallooed  in  a  sharp,  loud,  high  key.     You 
will  find  the  advantage  of  this  whenever  you  lose  your 
dog,  and  happen  not  to  have  a  whistle.     Observe,  also, 
if  you  have  several  dogs,  to  let  their  names  be  dissimilar 
in  sound. 

123.  I  have   suggested   your    employing    the  word 
"  Drop"  instead  of  the  usual  word  "  Down,"  because  it  is 
less  likely  to  be  uttered  by  any  one  on  whom  the  dog 
might  jump  or  fawn ;  for,  on  principle,  I  strongly  object 
to  any  order  being  given  which  is  not  strictly  enforced. 
It  begets  in  a  dog,  as  much  as  in  the  nobler  animal  who 
walks  on  two  legs,  habits  of  inattention  to  words  of 
command,  and  ultimately  makes  greater  severity  neces- 
sary.    If  I  felt  certain  I  should  never  wish  to  part  with 
a  dog  I  was  instructing,  I  should  carry  this  principle  so 
far  as  to  frame  a  novel  vocabulary,  and  never  use  any 
word  I  thought  he  would  be  likely  to  hear  from  others. 
By  the  bye,  whenever  you  purchase  a  dog,  it  would  be 
advisable  to  ascertain  what  words  of  command  and  what 
signals  he  has  been  accustomed  to. 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN  COMMENCED.  60  7 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FIRST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  COMMENCED.      BANGING. 

124.  A  KEEPER  nearly  always  breaks  in  his  young 
dogs  to  "  set,"  if  their  ages  permit  it,  on  favorable  days 
in  Spring,  when  the  partridges  have  paired.*  He  gets 
plenty  of  points,  and  the  birds  lie  well.  But  I  cannot 
believe  it  is  the  best  way  to  attain  great  excellence, 
though  the  plan  has  many  followers :  it  does  not  cultivate 
the  intelligence  of  his  pupils,  nor  enlarge  their  ideas  by 
making  them  sensible  of  the  object  for  which  such  pains 
are  taken  in  hunting  them.  Moreover,  their  natural 
ardor — a  feeling  that  it  should  be  his  aim  rather  to 
increase  than  weaken — is  more  or  less  damped  by  having 
often  to  stand  at  game  before  they  can  be  rewarded  for 
their  exertions  by  having  it  killed  to  them, — it  prevents, 
rather  than  imparts,  the  zeal  and  perseverance  for  which 
Irish  dogs  are  so  remarkable.  Particularly  ought  a 

*  In  ordinary  seasons  immediately  after  St.  Valentine's  Day — 
before  the  birds  have  made  their  nests.  The  first  of  September  is 
the  commencement  of  partridge  shooting  in  England,  as  the  26th 
of  Oct.  and  the  1st  of  ISov.  are  generally  in  America  for  quail. 

All  the  breaking  for  partridge  in  this  work,  is  applicable  and 
must  be  referred  to  quail  in  America.  Grouse  shooting  on  the 
moors,  in  England  is  applicable  to  our  prairie  shooting,  and  pheasant 
shooting  to  our  ruffed  grouse  shooting,  when  that  may  be  had. 
The  reader  must,  therefore,  transfer  the  months  and  seasons  according 
ly.— H.  W.H. 


638  DOG-BREAKING. 

breaker,  whose  pupil  is  of  nervous  temperament,  or  of 
too  gentle  a  disposition,  to  consider  well  that  the  want 
of  all  recompense  for  finding  paired  birds  must  make  a 
timid  dog  far  more  likely  to  become  a  "  blinker,"  when 
he  is  checked  for  not  pointing  them,  than  when  he  is 
checked  for  not  pointing  birds  which  his  own  impetuosity 
alone  deprives  him  of  every  chance  of  rapturously  "  tou- 
seling."  The  very  fact  that  "the  birds  lie  well"  fre- 
quently leads  to  mischief;  for,  if  the  instructor  be  not 
very  watchful,  there  is  a  fear  that  his  youngsters  may 
succeed  in  getting  too  close  to  their  game  before  he 
forces  them  to  come  to  a  staunch  point.  A  keeper, 
however,  has  but  little  choice — and  it  is  not  a  bad  time 
to  teach  the  back — if  his  master  insists  upon  shooting 
over  the  animals  the  first  day  of  the  season,  and  expects 
to  find  them  what  some  call  "perfectly  broken  in." 
But  I  trust  some  of  my  readers  have  nobler  ends  in 
view ;  therefore, 

125.  I  will  suppose  your  youngster  to  have  been  well 
grounded  in  his  initiatory  lessons,  and  that  you  take 
him  out  when  the  crops  are  nearly  off  the  ground — by 
which  time  there  will  be  few  squeakers — on  a  fine  cool 
day  in  September, — alas !  that  it  cannot  be  an  August 
day  on  the  moors, — to  show  him  birds  for  the  first  time. 
As  he  is  assumed  to  be  highly  bred,  you  may  start  in 
the  confident  expectation  of  killing  partridges  over  him, 
especially  if  he  is  a  pointer.  Have  his  nose  moist  and 
healthy.  Take  him  out  when  the  birds  are  on  the  feed, 
ami  of  an  afternoon  in  prefmence  to  the  morning, — 


FIRST    LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    COMMENCED.  539 

from  an  unusually  dry  season  there  be  but  little  scent, — 
that  he  may  not  be  attracted  by  the  taint  of  hares  of 
rabbits.  Take  him  out  alone,  if  he  evince  any  disposi- 
tion to  hunt,  which,  at  the  age  we  will  presume  him  to 
have  attained  next  season,  we  must  assume  that  he  will 
do,  and  with  great  zeal.  Be  much  guided  by  his  temper 
and  character.  Should  he  possess  great  courage  and 
dash,  you  cannot  begin  too  soon  to  make  him  point. 
You  should  always  check  a  wild  dog  in  racing  after 
pigeons  and  small  birds  on  their  rising;  whereas  you 
should  encourage  a  timid  dog — one  who  clings  to 
"heel" — in  such  a  fruitless  but  exciting  chase.  The 
measures  to  be  pursued  with  such  an  animal  are  fully 
detailed  in  111,  112. 

126.  I  may  as  well  caution  you  against  adopting  the 
foolish  practice  of  attempting  to  cheer  on  your  dog  with 
a  constant  low  whistle,  under  the  mistaken  idea  that  it 
will  animate  him  to  increased  zeal  in  hunting.     From 
perpetually  hearing   the   monotonous   sound,  it  would 
prove  as  little  of  an  incentive  to  exertion  as-a  continued 
chirrup  to  a  horse ;    and  yet  if  habituated  to  it,  your 
dog  would  greatly  miss  it  whenever  hunted  by  a  stranger. 
Not  unregarded,  however,  would  it  be  by  the  birds,  to 
whom   on  a  calm  day  it   would  act  as  a  very  useful 
warning. 

127.  Though  you  have  not  moors,  fortunately  we  can 
suppose  your  fields  to  be  of  a  good  size.     Avoid  all 
which    have    recently    been    manured.      Select    those 
that  are  large,  and  in  which  you  are  the  least  likely  to 


540  DOG-BREAKING. 

tind  birds,  until  his  spirits  are  somewhat  sobered,  and  he 
begins  partly  to  comprehend  your  instructions  respect- 
ing his  range.  There  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not 
have  been  taken  out  a  few  days  before  this,  not  to  show 
him  birds,  but  to  have  commenced  teaching  him  how 
to  traverse  his  ground.  Indeed,  if  we  had  supposed  him 
of  a  sufficient  age — 111 — he  might  by  this  time  be  some- 
what advanced  towards  a  systematic  beat.  It  is  seeing 
birds  early  that  is  to  be  deprecated,  not  his  being  taught 
how  to  range. 

128.  J3e  careful  to  enter  every  field  at  the  leeward* 
side — about  the  middle, — that  he  may  have  the  wind  to 
work  against.  Choose  a  day  when  there  is  a  breeze, 
but  not  a  boisterous  one.  In  a  calm  the  scent  is  sta- 
tionary, and  can  hardly  be  found  unless  accidentally. 
In  a  gale  it  is  scattered  to  the  four  quarters.f  You 

*  "  Leeward  " — a  nautical  phrase — here  meaning  the  side  to- 
wards which  the  wind  blows  from  the  field.  If  you  entered  else- 
where, the  dog  while  ranging  would  be  tempted,  from  the  natural 
bearing  of  his  nose  towards  the  wind,  to  come  back  upon  you, 
making  his  first  turn  inwards  instead  of  outwards. 

|  But,  independently  of  these  obvious  reasons,  scent  is  affected 
by  causes  into  the  nature  of  which  none  of  us  can  penetrate. 
Thei'e  is  a  contrariety  in  it  that  ever  has  puzzled,  and  apparently 
ever  will  puzzle,  the  most  observant  sportsman — whether  a  lover  of 
the  chase  or  gun, — and  therefore,  in  ignorance  of  the  doubtless 
immutable,  though  to  us  inexplicable,  laws  by  which  it  is  regulated, 
we  are  contented  to  call  it  "  capricious."  Immediately  before 
heavy  rain  there  frequently  is  none.  It  is  undeniable  that  mois- 
ture will  at  one  time  destroy  it— at  another  time  bring  it.  That 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   COMMENCED.  541 

want  not  an  undirected  ramble,  but  a  judicious  travers- 
ing beat  under  your  own  guidance,  'which  shall  leave  no 
ground  unexplored,  and  yet  have  none  twice  explored. 

129.  Suppose  the  form  of  the  field,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  to  approach  a  parallelogram  or  square,  and  that 
the  wind  blows  in  any  direction  but  diagonally  across 
it.  On  entering  at  the  leeward  side  send  the  dog  from 
you  by  a  wave  of  your  hand  or  the  word  "  On."  You 
wish  him,  while  you  are  advancing  up  the  middle  of  it, 
to  cross  you  at  right  angles,  say  from  right  to  left, — 
then  to  run  up-wind  for  a  little,  parallel  to  your  own 
direction,  and  afterwards  to  recross  in  front  of  you  from 
left  to  right,  and  so  on  until  the  whole  field  is  regularly 
hunted.  To  effect  this,  notwithstanding  your  previous 
preparatory  lessons,  you  will  have  to  show  him  the  way, 

on  certain  days — in  slight  frost,  for  instance, — setters  will  recognise 
it  better  than  pointers,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  nose  of  the 
latter  will  prove  far  superior  after  a  long  continuance  of  dry 
weather,  and  this  even  when  the  setter  has  been  furnished  with 
abundance  of  water — which  circumstance  pleads  in  favor  of  hunt- 
ing pointers  and  setters  together.  The  argument  against  it,  is  the 
usual  inequality  of  their  pace,  and,  to  the  eye  of  some  sportsmen, 
the  want  of  harmony  in  their  appearance.  Should  not  this  uncer 
tainty  respecting  the  recognition  of  scent  teach  us  not  to  continue 
hunting  a  good  dog  who  is  frequently  making  mistakes,  but  rather 
to  keep  him  at  "  heel "  for  an  hour  or  two  ?  He  will  consider  it  a 
kind  of  punishment,  and  be  doubly  careful  when  next  enlarged. 
Moreover,  he  may  be  slightly  feverish  from  overwork,  or  he  may 
nave  come  in  contact  with  some  impurity, — in  either  of  which 
3ases  hii  nose  would  be  temporarily  out  of  order. 


542  DOG-BREAKING. 

as  it  were — setting  him  an  example  in  your  own  person, 
— by  running  a  few  steps  in  the  direction  you  wish  him 
to  go — say  to  the  right, — cheering  him  on  to  take  the 
lead.  As  he  gets  near  the  extremity  of  his  beat,  when 
he  does  not  observe  you,  he  can  steal  a  small  advance  in 
the  true  direction  of  your  own  beat,  which  is  directly  up 
the  middle  of  the  field  meeting  the  wind.  If  perceiv- 
ing your  advance  he  turn  towards  you,  face  him — wave 
your  right  hand  to  him,  and,  while  he  sees  you,  run  on  a 
few  paces  in  his  direction— that  is,  parallel  to  his  true 
direction.  As  he  approaches  the  hedge — the  one  on 
your  right  hand,  but  be  careful  that  he  does  not  get 
close  to  it,  lest,  from  often  finding  game  there,  he  ulti- 
mately become  a  potterer  and  regular  hedge  hunter — 
face  towards  him,  and  on  catching  his  eye,  wave  your 
left  arm.  If  you  cannot  succeed  in  catching  his  eye, 
you  must  give  one  low  whistle — the  less  you  habituate 
yourself  to  use  the  whistle,  the  less  you  will  alarm  the 
birds — study  to  do  all,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  by 
signals.  You  wish  your  wave  of  the  left  arm  to  make 
the  dog  turn  to  the  left — his  head  to  the  wind, — and 
that  he  should  run  parallel  to  the  side  of  the  hedge  for 
some  yards — say  from  thirty  to  forty — before  he  makes 
his  second  turn  to  the  left  to  cross  the  field ;  but  you 
must  expect  him  to  turn  too  directly  towards  you  on 
your  first  signal  to  turn.  Should  he  by  any  rare  chance 
have  made  the  turn — the  first  one — correctly,  and  thus 
be  hunting  up-wind,  on  no  account  interrupt  him  by 
making  any  signals  until  he  has  run  up  the  distance  you 


FIKST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   COMMENCED.  543 

wish — the  aforesaid  thirty  or  forty  yards, — then  again 
catch  his  eye,  and,  as  before — not  now,  however,  faced 
towards  him  and  the  hedge,  but  faced  towards  your 
true  direction, — by  a  wave  of  the  left  arm  endeavor  to 
make  him  turn  to  the  left — across  the  wind.  If,  con- 
trary to  what  you  have  a  right  to  suppose,  he  will  not 
turn  towards  you  on  your  giving  a  whistle  and  wave  of 
your  hand,  stand  still,  and  continue  whistling — even- 
tually he  will  obey.  But  you  must  not  indulge  in  the 
faintest  hope  that  all  I  have  described  will  be  done  cor- 
rectly; be  satisfied  at  first  with  an  approach  towards 
accuracy ;  you  will  daily  find  an  improvement,  if  you 
persevere  steadily.  When  you  see  that  there  is  but 
little  chance  of  his  turning  the  way  you  want,  at  once 
use  the  signal  more  consonant  to  his  views,  for  it  should 
be  your  constant  endeavor  to  make  him  fancy  that  he  is 
always  ranging  according  to  the  directions  of  your 
hands.  Be  particular  in  attending  to  this  hint. 

1 30.  His  past  tuition — 34 — most  probably  will  have  ac- 
customed him  to  watch  your  eye  for  directions,  therefore 
it  is  not  likely,  even  should  he  have  made  a  wrong  turn 
near  the  hedge — a  turn  down-wind  instead  of  up-wind, 
which  would  wholly  have  prevented  the  required  advance 
parallel  to  the  hedge, — that  he  will  cross  in  rear  of  you. 
Should  he,  however,  do  so,  retreat  a  few  steps, — or  face 
about,  if  he  is  far  in  the  rear, — in  order  to  impress  him 
with  the  feeling  that  all  his  work  must  be  performed 
under  your  eye.  Animate  him  with  an  encouraging 
word  as  he  passes.  When  he  gets  near  the  edge  to  the 


544  DOG-BREAKING. 

left,  endeavor,  by  signals — agreeably  to  the  method 
just  explained — 129 — to  make  him  turn  to  the — his — • 
right,  his  head  to  the  wind,  and  run  up  alongside  of  it 
for  thirty  to  forty  yards,  if  you  can  manage  it,  before  he 
begins  to  recross  the  field,  by  making  a  second  turn  to 
the  right.  If  you  could  get  him  to  do  this,  he  would 
cross  well  in  advance  of  you. 

131.  Though  most  likely  his  turn — the  first — the  turn 
up-wind — will  be  too  abrupt — too  much  of  an  acute  angle 
instead  of  the  required  right  angle, — and  that  conse- 
quently, in  order  to  get  ahead  of  you,  he  will  have  to 
traverse  the  field  diagonally,  yet  after  a  few  trials  it  is 
probable  he  will  do  so  rather  than  not  get  in  front  of 
you.     This  would  be  better  than  the  former  attempt — 
not  obliging  you  to  face  about — express  your  approval, 
and  the  next  turn  near  the  hedge  may  be  made  with  a 
bolder  sweep.     Remember  your  aim  is,  that  no  part  be 
unhunted,  and  that  none  once  commanded  by  his  nose 
should  be  again  hunted.     He  ought  to  cross,  say  thirty 
yards  in  front  of  you,  but  much  will  depend  upon  his 
nose. 

132.  Nearly  on  every  occasion  of  catching  his  eye, 
except  when  he  is  running  up-wind  parallel  to  the  hedge, 
give  him  some  kind  of  signal.     This  will  more  and  more 
confirm  him  in  the  habit  of  looking  to  you,  from  time  to 
time,  for  orders,  and  thus  aid  in  insuring  his  constant 
obedience.     After  a  while,  judging  by  the  way  in  which 
your  face  is  turned,  he  will  know  in  what  direction  you 
propose  advancing,  and  will  guide  his  own  movements 


FIKST    LESSON   IN    AUTUMN    COMMENCED.  545 

accordingly.  Should  he,  as  most  probably  he  will  for 
some  time,  turn  too  sharply  towards  you  when  getting 
near  the  hedge,  I  mean  at  too  acute  an  angle,  incline  or 
rather  face  towards  him.  This,  coupled  with  the  natural 
wish  to  range  unrestrained,  will  make  him  hunt  longer 
parallel  to  the  hedge,  before  he  makes  his  second  turn 
towards  you. 

133.  You  may  at   first  strive  to  correct  your  dog's 
uurning  too  abruptly  inwards — the  first  turn — by  push- 
ing on  in  your  own  person  further  ahead  on  your  own 
beat ;  but  when  he  has  acquired  if  merely  the  slightest 
idea  of  a  correct  range,  be  most  careful  not  to  get  in 
advance  of  the  ground  he  is  to  hunt ;    your  doing  so 
might  habituate  him  to  cross  the  field  diagonally — there- 
by leaving  much  of  the  sides  of  the  fields  unhunted, — 
in  order  to  get  ahead  of  you  ;  and,  moreover,  you  might 
spring  birds  you  are  anxious  he  should  find.     Should  he, 
on  the  other  hand,  be  inclined  to  work  too  far  upward 
before  making  his  turn  to  cross  the  field,  hang  back  in 
your  own  person. 

134.  Though  you  may  be  in  an  unenclosed  country, 
let  him  range  at  first  to  no  more  than  from  seventy  to 
eighty  yards  on  each  side  of  you.     You  can  gradually 
extend  these  lateral  beats  as  he  becomes  conversant  with 
his  business — indeed  at  the  commencement  rather  dimi- 
nish than  increase  the  distances  just  named,  both  for  the 
length  of  the  parallels   and  the  space   between   them. 
Do  not  allow  the  alluring  title  "  a  fine  wide  ranger  "  to 
tempt  you  to  let  him  out  of  leading  strings.     If  he  be 


M6  DOG-BREAKING. 

once  permitted  to  imagine  that  he  has  a  discretionary 
power  respecting  the  best  places  to  hunt,  and  the  direc- 
tion and  length  of  his  beats,  you  will  find  it  extremely 
difficult  to  get  him  again  well  in  hand.  On  the  moors 
his  range  must  be  far  greater  than  on  the  stubbles,  but 
still  the  rudiments  must  be  taught  on  this  contracted 
scale  or  you  will  never  get  him  to  look  to  you  fcr  orders. 
Do  you  keep  entire  control  over  his  beats ;  let  him  have 
almost  the  sole  management  of  his  drawing  upon  birds, 
provided  he  does  not  puzzle,  or  run  riot  too  long  over 
an  old  haunt.  Give  him  time,  and  after  a  little  expe- 
rience his  nose  will  tell  him  more  surely  than  your  judg- 
ment can,  whether  he  is  working  on  the  "toe"  or  "heel" 
of  birds,  and  whether  he  diverges  from  or  approaches 
the  strongest  and  most  recent  haunt — do  not  flurry  or 
hurry  him,  and  he  will  soon  acquire  that  knowledge. 

135.  As  the  powers  of  scent  vary  greatly  in  different 
dogs,  the  depth  of  their  turns — or  parallels — ought  to 
vary  also,  and  it  will  be  hereafter  for  you  to  judge  what 
distance  between  the  parallels  it  is  most  advantageous 
for  your  youngster  ultimately  to  adopt  in  his  general 
hunting.     The  deeper  its  turns  are,  of  course,  the  more 
ground  you  will  beat  within  a  specified  time.     What 
you  have  to  guard  against  is  the  possibility  of  their 
being  so  wide  that  birds  may  be  passed  by  unnoticed. 
I  should  not  like  to  name  the  distance  within  which 
good  cautious  dogs  that  carry  their  heads  high  will  wind 
game  on  a  favorable  day. 

136.  If  you  design  your  pupil,  when  broken  in,  to 


FIRST   LESSON   IN    AUTUMN   COMMENCED.  547 

hunt  with  a  companion,  and  wish  h*>th  the  dogs,  as  is 
usual,  to  cross  you,  you  will,  of  course,  habituate  him  to 
make  his  sweeps — the  space  between  the  parallels — wider 
than  if  you  had  intended  him  to  hunt  without  any  one 
to  share  his  labors. 

137.  I  need  hardly  warn  you  to  be  careful  not  to 
interrupt  him  whenever  he  appears  to  be  winding  birds, 
However  good  his  nose  may  be  by  nature,  it  will  not 
gain  experience  and  discrimination  unless  you  give  him 
a  certain  time  to  determine  for  himself  whether  he  has 
really  touched  upon  a  faint  scent  of  birds,  and  whether 
they  are  in  his  front  or  rear,  or  gone  away  altogether. 
Like  every  other  faculty,  his  sense  of  smell  will  improve 
the  more  it  is  exercised.     But  on  the  other  hand,  as  I 
observed  before,  do  not  let  him  continue  puzzling  with 
his  nose  close  to  the  ground, — urge  him  on, — make  him 
increase  his  pace, — force  him  to  search  elsewhere,  and  he 
will  gradually  elevate  his  head,  and,  catching  the  scent 
Df  other  particles,  will  follow  up  these  with  a  nose  borne 
aloft,  unless  he  is  a  brute  not  worth  a  twentieth  part  of 
the  pains  which  you  think  of  bestowing  upon  him ;  for, 

138.  Besides  the  greatly  decreased  chance  of  finding 
them,  birds  that  to  a  certainty  would  become  uneasy, 
and  make  off  if  pursued  by  a  dog  tracking  them,  will 
often  lie  well    to  one  who  finds  them  by  the   wind. 
They  are  then  not  aware  that  they  are  discovered,  and 
the  dog,  from  the  information  his  nose  gives  him,  can 
approach  them   either   boldly  or  with   great  wariness, 
according  as  he  perceives  them  to  be  more  or  less  shy. 


548  DOG-BEEAKING. 

139.  If,  being  liable  to  catch  the  dog's  eye,  you  are 
forced  to  use  the  whistle  frequently,  and  he  continues 
inattentive  to  it,  notwithstanding  his  previous  tuition, 
stand  still — make  him  He  down — by  the  word  "  drop,"  if 
he  will  not  obey  your  raised  left  arm — go  up  to  him — 
take  hold  of  his  collar,  and  rate  him,  saying,  "  Bad,  bad," 
cracking  your  whip  over  him — let  the  whip  be  one  that 
will  crack  loudly,  not  for  present  purposes,  but  that, 
when  occasion  requires,  he  may  hear  it  at  a  distance — 
and  whistling  softly.  This  will  show  him — should  you 
beat  him,  you  would  confuse  his  ideas — that  he  is  chidden 
for  not  paying  attention  to  the  whistle.  Indeed,  when- 
ever you  have  occasion  to  scold  or  punish  him,  make  it  a 
constant  rule,  while  you  rate  him,  to  repeat  many  times 
the  word  of  command,  or  the  signal  which  he  has 
neglected  to  obey.  There  is  no  other  way  by  which 
you  will  make  him  understand  you  quickly.  You 
must  expect  that  your  young  dog  will  for  some  time 
make  sad  mistakes  in  his  range; — but  be  not  discou- 
raged. Doubtless  there  is  no  one  thing, — I  was  going 
to  say,  that  there  are  no  dozen  things, — in  the  whole 
art  of  dog-breaking,  which  are  so  difficult  to  attain, 
or  which  exact  so  much  labor,  as  a  high,  well-con- 
firmed, systematic  range.  Nature  will  not  assist  you 
— you  must  do  it  all  yourself;  but  in  recompense  there 
is  nothing  so  advantageous  when  it  is  at  length  acquired. 
It  will  abundantly  repay  months  of  persevering  exertion. 
It  constitutes  the  grand  criterion  of  true  excellence.  Its 
attainment  makes  a  dog  of  inferior  nose  and  action  far 


FIBST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  549 

superior  to  one  of  much  greater  natural  qualifications, 
who  may  be  tomfooling  about,  galloping  backwards  and 
forwards,  sometimes  over  identically  the  same  ground, 
quite  uselessly  exerting  his  travelling  powers ;  now  and 
then,  indeed,  arrested  by  the  suspicion  of  a  haunt,  which 
he  is  not  experienced  enough,  or  sufficiently  taught,  to 
turn  to  good  account, — and  occasionally  brought  to  a 
stiff  point  on  birds  accidentally  found  right  under  his 
nose.  It  is  undeniable,  cceteris  paribusy  "that  the  dog 
who  hunts  his  ground  most  according  to  rule  must  in 
the  end  find  most  game. 


CHAPTER  VH. 

PIKST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  CONTINUED.      CAUTION. 

140.  IF  it  is  your  fixed  determination  to  confirm  your 
dog  in  the  truly-killing  range  described  in  last  Chapter, 
do  not  associate  him  for  months  in  the  field  with  another 
dog,  however  highly  broken.     It  would  be  far  better  to 
devote  but  two  hours  per  diem  to  your  pupil  exclusively, 
than  to  hunt  him  the  whole  day  with  a  companion. 

141.  Many  breakers  do  exactly  the  reverse  of  this. 
They  take  out  an  old  steady  ranger,  with  the  intention 
that  he  shall  lead  the  young  dog,  and  that  the  latter, 


550  DOG-BREAKING. 

from  imitation  and  habit,  shall  learn  how  to  quarter  his 
ground.  But  what  he  gains  by  imitation  will  so  little 
improve  his  intellects,  that,  when  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources,  he  will  prove  a  miserable  finder.  On  a  hot, 
dry  day  he  will  not  be  able  to  make  out  a  feather,  nor 
on  any  day  to  "foot"  a  delicate  scent.  I  grant  that 
the  plan  expedites  matters,  and  attains  the  end  which 
most  professional  trainers  seek ;  but  it  will  not  give  a 
dog  self-confidence  and  independence,  it  will  not  impart 
to  him  an  inquiring  nose,  and  make  him  rely  on  its 
sensitiveness  to  discover  game,  rather  than  to  his  quick- 
ness of  eye  to  detect  when  his  friend  touches  upon  a 
haunt ;  nor  will  it  instruct  him  to  look  from  time  to 
time  towards  the  gun  for  directions.  It  may  teach  him 
a  range,  but  not  to  hunt  where  he  is  ordered ;  nor  will 
it  habituate  him  to  vary  the  breadth  of  the  parallels  on 
which  he  works,  according  as  his  master  may  judge  it 
to  be  a  good  or  bad  scenting  day. 

142.  To  establish  the  rare,  noble  beat  I  am  recom- 
mending,— one  not  hereafter  to  be  deranged  by  the 
temptation  of  a  furrow  in  turnips  or  potatoes, — you 
must  have  the  philosophy  not  to  hunt  your  dog  in  them 
until  he  is  accustomed  in  his  range  to  be  guided  entirely 
by  the  wind  and  your  signals,  and  is  in  no  way  influenced 
by  the  nature  of  the  ground.  Even  then  it  would  be 
better  not  to  beat  narrow  strips  across  which  it  would 
be  impossible  for  him  to  make  his  regular  casts.  Avoid, 
too,  for  some  time,  if  you  can,  all  small  fields — which 
will  only  contract  his  range, — and  all  fields  with  trenches 


FIRST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  5ol 

or  furrows,  for  he  will  but  too  naturally  follow  them 
instead  of  paying  attention  to  his  true  beat.  Have  you 
never,  in  low  lands,  seen  a  young  dog  running  down  a 
potato  or  turnip  trench,  out  of  which  his  master,  after 
much  labor,  had  no  sooner  extracted  him  than  he 
dropped  into  the  adjacent  one  ?  It  is  the  absence  of 
artificial  tracks  which  makes  the  range  of  nearly  all  dogs 
well  broken  on  the  moors,  so  much  truer  than  that  of 
dogs  hunted  on  cultivated  lands. 

143.  Moreover,  in  turnips,  potatoes,  clover,  and  the 
like  thick  shelter,  birds  will  generally  permit  a  dog  to 
approach  so  closely,  that  if  he  is  much  accustomed  to 
hunt  such  places,  he  will  be  sure  to  acquire  the  evil  habit 
of  pressing   too   near   his  game  when  finding  on   the 
stubbles — instead  of  being  startled  as  it  were  into  an 
instantaneous  stop  the  moment  he  first  winds  game, — and 
thus  raise  many  a  bird  out  of  gun-shot  that  a  cautious 
dog — one  who  slackens  his  pace  the  instant  he  judges 
that  he  is  beating  a  likely  spot — would  not  have  alarmed. 

144.  "  A  cautious  dog !  "     Can  there  well  be  a  more 
flattering  epithet  ?  *     Such  a  dog  can  hardly  travel  too 
fastf  in  a  tolerably  open  country,  where  there  is  not 

*  Provided  always  he  be  not  perpetually  pointing,  as  occasionally 
will  happen — and  is  the  more  likely  to  happen  if  he  has  been 
injudiciously  taught  as  a  puppy  to  set  chickens,  and  has  thereby 
acquired  the  evil  habit  of  "  standing  by  eye ; "  which,  however, 
may  have  made  him  a  first-rate  hand  at  pointing  crows. 

f  With  the  understanding  that  the  pace  does  not  make  him 
*  shut  up  "  before  the  day  is  over. 


552  DOG-BREAKING. 

a  superabundance  of  game,  if  he  really  hunt  with  an 
inquiring  nose ; — but  to  his  master  what  an  all-important 
"  if"  is  this !  It  marks  the  difference  between  the  saga- 
cious, wary,  patient,  yet  diligent  animal,  whose  every 
sense  and  every  faculty  is  absorbed  in  his  endeavor  to 
make  out  birds,  not  for  himself  but  the  gun,  and  the 
wild  harum-scarum  who  blunders  up  three-fourths  of  the 
birds  he  finds.  No  I  not  finds,  but  frightens, — for  he  is 
not  aware  of  their  presence  until  they  are  on  the  wing, 
and  seldom  points  unless  he  gets  some  heedless  bird 
right  under  his  nose,  when  an  ignoramus,  in  admiration 
of  the  beauty  of  the  dog's  sudden  attitude,  will  often 
forget  the  mischief  which  he  has  done. 

145.  Though  you  cannot  improve  a  dog's  nose,  you 
can  do  what  is  nearly  tantamount  to  it — you  can  increase 
his  caution.     By  watching  for  the  slightest  token  of  his 
feathering,  and  then  calling  out  "  Toho,"  or  making  the 
signal,  you  will  gradually  teach  him  to  look  out  for  the 
faintest  indication  of  a  scent,  and  point  the  instant  he 
winds  it,  instead  of  heedlessly  hunting  on  until  he  meets 
a  more  exciting  effluvia.     See  174  to  176,  and  228. 

146.  If  from  a  want  of  animation  in  his  manner  you 
are  not  able  to  judge  of  the  moment  when  he  first  winds 
game,  and  you  thus  are  not  able  to  call  out  "  Toho  "  until 
he  gets  close  to  birds,  quietly  pull  him  back  from  his  point 
"  dead.to  leeward  "  for  some  paces,  and  there  make  him 
resume  his  point.     Perseverance  in  this  plan  will  ulti- 
mately effect  your  wishes,  unless  his  nose  is  radically 
wrong.     A    dog's   pointing   too   near   his   game  moie 


FIKST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  553 

frequently  arises  from  want  of  caution — in  other  words, 
from  want  of  good  instruction — than  from  a  defective  nose. 
147.  Slow  dogs  readily  acquire  this  caution ;  but  fast 
dogs  cannot  be  taught  it  without  great  labor.  You 
have  to  show  them  the  necessity  of  diminishing  their 
pace,  that  their  noses  may  have  fair  play.  If  you  have 
such  a  pupil  to  instruct,  when  you  get  near  birds  you 
have  marked  down,  signal  to  him  to  come  to  "  heel " 
Whisper  to  him  "  Care,"  and  let  him  see  by  your  light, 
slow  tread,  your  anxiety  not  to  alarm  the  birds.  If  he  has 
never  shown  any  symptoms  of  blinking,  you  may,  a  few 
times,  thus  spring  the  birds  yourself  while  you  keep  him 
close  to  you.  On  the  next  occasion  of  marking  down 
birds,  or  coming  to  a  very  likely  spot,  bring  him  int< 
"heel,"  and  after  an  impressive  injunction  to  take  "  care," 
give  him  two  or  three  very  limited  casts  to  the  right  or 
left,  and  let  him  find  the  birds  while  you  instruct  him  as 
described  in  228.  As  there  will  be  no  fear  of  such  a 
dog  making  false  points,  take  him  often  to  the  fields 
where  he  has  most  frequently  met  birds.  The  expectation 
of  again  coming  on  them,  and  the  recollection  of  the 
lectures  he  there  received,  will  be  likely  to  make  him 
cautious  on  entering  it.  I  remember  a  particular  spot 
in  a  certain  field  that  early  in  the  season  constantly 
held  birds.  A  young  dog  I  then  possessed  never  ap- 
proached it  afterwards  without  drawing  upon  it  most 
carefully,  though  he  had  not  found  there  for  months. 
At  first  I  had  some  difficulty  in  preventing  the  "  draw  " 
from  becoming  a  "  point." 

24 


564  DOG-BREAKING. 

148.  I  have  elsewhere  observed  that  fast  dogs,  which 
give  most  trouble  in  breaking,  usually  turn  out  best : 
now  if  you  think  for  a  moment  you  will  see  the  reason 
plainly.     A  young  dog  does  not  ultimately  become  first- 
rate  because  he  is  wild  and  headstrong,  and  regardless  of 
orders,  but  because  his  speed  and  disobedience  arise 
from  his  great  energies, — from  his  fondness  for  the  sport, 
from  his  longing  to  inhale  the  exhilarating  scent  and 
pursue  the  flying  game.     It  is  the  possession  of  these 
qualities  that  makes  him,  in  his  anxious  state  of  excite- 
ment, blind  to   your   signals   and   deaf  to   your   calls. 
These  obviously  are  qualities  that,  under  good  manage- 
ment? lead  to  great  excellence  and  superiority, — that 
make  one  dog  do  the  work  of  two.     But  they  are  not 
qualities  sought  for  by  an  idle  or  incompetent  breaker. 

149.  These  valuable  qualities  in  the  fast  dog,  must, 
however,  be  accompanied  with  a  searching  nose.     It  is 
not  enough  that  a  dog  be  always  apparently  hunting,  that 
is  to  say,  always  on  the  gallop — his  nose  should  always  be 
hunting.     When  this  is  the  case,  and  you  may  be  pretty 
certain  it  is  if,  as  he  crosses  the  breeze,  his  nose  has 
intuitively  a  bearing  to  windward,  you  need  not  fear  that 
he  will  travel  too  fast,  or  not  repay  you  ultimately  for  the 
great  extra  trouble  caused  by  his  high  spirits  and  ardor 
for  the  sport. 

*  The  more  resolute  a  dog  is,  the  more  pains  should  be  taken, 
before  he  is  shown  game,  to  perfect  him  in  the  instant  "  drop" — 25— 
however  far  off  he  may  be  ranging. 


FIRST    LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  555 

150.  You  have  been  recommended  invariably  to  enter 
every  field  by  the  leeward  side.     This  you  can  generally 
accomplish  with  ease,  if  you  commence  your  day's  beat 
to  leeward.     Should  circumstances  oblige  you  to  enter  a 
field  on  the  windward  side,  make  it  a  rule,  as  long  as 
your  dog  continues  a  youngster,  to  call  him  to  "heel," 
and  walk  down  the  field  with  him  until  you  get  to  the 
opposite  side — the  leeward — then   hunt  him  regularly 
up  to  windward. 

151.  I  have  read  wondrous  accounts  of  dogs,  who, 
without  giving  themselves  the  trouble  of  quartering  their 
ground,  would  walk  straight  up  to  the  birds  if  there  were 
any  in  the  field.     It  has  never  been  my  luck,  I  do  not  say 
to  have  possessed  such  marvellous  animals,  but  even  to 
have  been  favored  with  a  sight  of  them.     I  therefore 
am  inclined  to  think,  let  your  means  be  what  they  may, 
that  you  would  find  it  better  not  to  advertise  for  crea- 
tures undoubtedly  most  rare,  but  to  act  upon  the  com 
mon  belief  that,  as  the  scent  of  birds,   more  or  less, 
impregnates  the  air,  no  dog,  let  his  nose  be  ever  so 
fine,    can,    except   accidentally,    wind   game   unless   he 
seeks  for  the  taint  in  the  air — and  that  the  dog  who 
regularly  crosses  the  wind  must  have  a  better  chance 
of  finding  it  than   he  who  only  works  up  wind — and 
that  down  wind  he  can  have  little  other  chance  than 
by  "reading." 

152.  It  is  heedlessness — the  exact  opposite  of  this 
extreme  caution — that  makes  young  dogs  so  often  dis- 
regard and  overrun  a  slight  scent ;  and  since  they  are 


556  DOG-BREAKING. 

more  inclined  to  commit  this  error  from  the  rivalry 
of  companionship,  an  additional  argument  is  presented 
in  favor  of  breaking  them  separately,  and  giving  them 
their  own  time,  leisurely  and  methodically,  to  work  out 
a  scent,  provided  the  nose  be  carried  high.  I  am  satisfied 
most  of  us  hurry  young  dogs  too  much. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FIRST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  CONTINUED.      CUNNING   OF   AGE. 
RANGE  OF   FROM  TWO  TO  SIX  DOGS. 

153.  Of  course  you  will  not  let  your  pupil  "break 
fence,"  or  get  out  of  your  sight.  Be  on  the  watch 
jo  whistle  or  call  out  "  Fence,"  the  instant  you  per- 
ceive that  he  is  thinking  of  quitting  the  field.  Do 
not  wait  until  he  is  out  of  sight ;  check  him  by  an- 
ticipating his  intentions.  Should  he,  unperceived,  or 
in  defiance  of  your  orders,  get  into  a  field  before  you, 
call  him  back — by  the  same  opening,  if  practicable, 
through  which  he  passed,  the  more  clearly  to  show  him 
his  folly; — and  do  not  proceed  further  until  he  has 
obeyed  you.  A  steady  adherence  to  this  rule  will  soon 
convince  him  of  the  inutility  of  not  exercising  more  pa- 
uence,  or  at  least  forbearance;  then  signal  to  him  "  away" 


FIRST   LESSON    IX    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  557 

in  the  direction  you  choose,  not  in  the  direction  he  chooses. 
It  is  essential  that  you  should  be  the  first  over  every 
fence.  In  the  scramble,  birds,  at  which  you  ought  to 
have  a  shot,  are  frequently  sprung.  If  he  is  not  obedient 
to  your  orders  make  him  u  drop,"  and  rate  him  as 
described  in  139. 

154.  A  dog  from  his  own  observation  so  much  feels, 
— and  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  according  to  his  edu- 
cation,— the  necessity  of  watching   in   what  direction 
you  are  walking,  that  if  he  is  habituated  to  work  under 
your  eye, — I  mean,  is  never  allowed  to  hunt  behind 
you, — by  turning  your  back  upon  him  when  he  is  paying 
no  attention  to  your  signals,  you  will  often  be  able  to 
bring  him  away  from  a  spot  where  he  is  ranging — perhaps 
down  wind — against  your  wishes,  at  a  time  when  you 
are  afraid  to  whistle,  lest  you  should  alarm  the  birds. 
Waving  your  hand  backwards  and  forwards  near  the 
ground,  and  stooping  low  while  walking  slowly  about,  as 
if  in  search  of  something,  will  often  attract  the  attention 
of  an  ill-taught,  self-willed   dog;   and  his  anxiety  to 
participate  in  the  find,  and  share  the  sport  which  he 
imagines  you  expect,  will  frequently  induce  him  to  run 
up,  and  hunt  alongside  of  you  for  any  close  lying  bird. 

155.  Never  be  induced  to  hunt  your  young  dog, — nor 
indeed    any  dog, — when  he  is  tired.     If  you  do,  you 
will  give  him  a  slovenly  carriage  and  habits,  and  lessen 
his  zeal  for  the  sport.     In  order  to  come  in  for  a  sniff,  at 
a  thne  when  he  is  too  fatigued  to  search  for  it  himself,  he 
will  crawl  after  his  companion,  watching  for  any  indica- 


558  DOG-BREAKING. 

tion  of  his  finding.  As  they  become  wearied  you  will 
have  a  difficulty  in  keeping  even  old  well-broken  dogs 
separate — much  more  young  ones,  however  indepen- 
dently they  may  have  ranged  when  fresh.  You  may 
also,  to  a  certainty,  expect  false  points  ;  but  what  is  of 
far  more  consequence,  by  frequently  overtasking  your 
dog,  you  will  as  effectually  waste  his  constitution  as 
you  would  your  horse's  by  premature  work. 

156.  If  he  is  very  young  when  first  entered,  two  or 
three  hours'  work  at  a  time  will  be  sufficient.     When 
he  is  tired,  or  rather  before  he  is  tired,  send  him  home 
with  the  man  who  brings  you  a  relief.     Do  not  fancy 
your  dog  will  be  getting  a  rest  if  he  is  allowed  to  follow 
at  your  heels  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  coupled  to  a 
companion.     His  fretting  at  not  being  allowed  to  share  in 
the  sport  he  sees,  will  take  nearly  as  much  out  of  him  as 
if  you  permitted  him  to  hunt.     If  you  can  persuade  John 
always  to  rub  him  down,  and  brush  and  dry  him — 
nay  even  to  let  him  enjoy  an  hour's  basking  in  front 
of  the  fire — before  he  shuts  him  up  in  the  kennel,  you 
will  add  years  to  his  existence ;    and  remember  that  one 
old  experienced  dog,  whose  constitution  is  uninjured,  is 
worth  two  young  ones. 

157.  When    you    hunt    a   brace   of  dogs,    to   speak 
theoretically,  they  should  traverse   a  field  in  opposite 
directions,  but  along  parallel  lines,   and   the   distance 
between  the  lines  should  be  regulated  by  you  accord- 
ing as  it  is  a  good  or  a  bad  scenting  day,  and  according 
to   the   excellence  of  the   dogs'   noses.     Mathematical 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   CONTINUED.  559 

accuracy  is,  of  course,  never  to  be  attained,  but  tne 
closer  you  approach  the  better. 

158.  You  should  attempt  it — on  entering  the  field  to 
leeward,  as  before  directed — by  making   one  dog  go 
straight  ahead  of  you  to  the  distance  which  you  wish 
the  parallel  lines  to  be  apart  from  each  other,  before 
you  cast  him  off— say — to  the  right ;  then  cast  off  his 
companion  to  the  left.     If  the  dogs  are  nearly  equal  in 
pace,  the  one  ahead,  so  long  as  he  does  not  fancy  he 
winds  game,  should  continue  to  work  on  a  parallel  more 
advanced  than  the  other. 

159.  Should  you  not  like  to  relinquish,  for  the  sake  of 
this  formal  precision,  the  chance  of  a  find  in  the  neglect- 
ed right-hand  corner  of  the  field,  cast  off  one  dog  to  the 
right  and  the  other  to  the  left,  on  entering  it,  and  make 
the  one  that  soonest  approaches  his  hedge   take  the 
widest  sweep — turn — and  so  be  placed  in  the  advanced 
parallel. 

160.  With  regard  to  hunting  more  than  a  brace — 
when  your  difficulties  wonderfully  multiply — your  own 
judgment  must  determine  in  what  manner  to   direct 
their    travelling   powers    to    the   greatest    advantage. 
Much  will  depend  upon  the  different  speed  of  the  dogs ; 
the  number  you  choose  from  whim,  or  otherwise,  to  hunt; 
the  kind  of  country  you  beat ;  and  the  quantity  and 
sort  of  game  you  expect  to  find.     It  is,  however,  certain 
you  must  wish  that  each  dog  be  observant  of  the  direc- 
tion in  which  your  face  is  turned,  in  order  that  he  may 
guide  his  own  movements  by  yours; — that  he  from  time 


560  DOG-BHEAKING. 

to  time  look  towards  you  to  see  if  you  have  any  com- 
mands ;  and  that  he  be  ever  anxious  to  obey  them. 

161.  Herbert  writes  as  follows,  in  his  work  on  shooting 
in  the  United  States  :*  his  words  ought  to  have  influence, 
for  manifestly  he  is  a  good  sportsman ;  but  I  own  I  can- 
not quite  agree  with  him  as  to  the  facility  with  which  a 
range  can  be  taught :  "  It  is  wonderful  how  easily  dogs 
which  are  always  shot  over  by  the  same  man — he  being 
one  who  knows  his  business — will  learn  to  cross  and  re- 
quarter  their  ground,  turning  to  the  slightest  whistle, 
and  following  the  least  gesture  of  the  hand.     I  have  seen 
old  dogs  turn  their  heads  to  catch  their  master's  eye,  if 
they  thought  the  whistle  too  long  deferred  ;  and  I  lately 
lost  an  old  Irish  setter,  which  had  been  stone  deaf  for  his 
last  two  seasons,  but  which  I  found  no  more  difficulty  in 
turning  than  any  other  dog,  so  accurately  did  he  kno\v 
when  to  look  for  the  signal." 

162.  To  beat  your  ground  systematically  with  three 
dogs,  you  should  strive  to  make  them  cross  and  recross 
you  each  on  a  different  parallel,  as  just  described  for 
two  dogs;  but  each  dog  must  make  a  proportionally 
bolder  sweep — turn — or, 

163.  If  you  have  plenty  of  space,  you  can  make  one 
dog  take  a  distinct  beat  to  the  right,  another  a  separate 
beat  to  the  left,  and  direct  the  third — which  ought  to  be 
the  dog  least  confirmed  in  his  range — to  traverse  the  cen- 
tral part, — and  so  be  the  only  one  that  shall  cross  and 

*  Entitled,  "  Field  Sports  in  the  United  States  and  British  Pro 
vinces,  by  Frank  Forester." 


FIRST    LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  561 

recross  you.  If  one  of  your  dogs  is  a  slow  potterer,  and  ' 
you  prefer  this  method  to  the  one  named  in  162,  give 
him  the  middle  beat,  and  let  his  faster  companions  take 
the  flanks.  In  our  small  English  fields  you  have  not 
space  enough,  but  on  our  moors,  and  in  many  parts  of 
the  Continent,  it  cannot  be  want  of  room  that  will  pre- 
vent your  accomplishing  it.  To  do  this  well,  however, 
and  not  interfere  with  each  other's  ground,  how  mag- 
nificently must  your  dogs  be  broken !  In  directing  their 
movements,  the  assistance  that  would  be  given  you  by 
each  dog's  acknowledging  his  own  particular  whistle, 
and  no  other — 275 — is  very  apparent. 

164.  It  is  difficult  enough  to  make  three  dogs  traverse 
across  you  on  tolerably  distinct  parallels ;  and  at  a  judi- 
cious distance  between  the  parallels  you  will  find  it 
hopeless  to  attempt  it  with  more  than  three ;  and  one 
can  hardly  imagine  a  case  in  which  it  would  be  advan- 
tageous to  uncouple  a  greater  number  of  good  rangers. 
If,  however,  the  scarcity  of  game,  and  the  extensiveness 
of  your  beat,  or  any  peculiar  fancy,  induce  you 
habitually  to  use  four  dogs,  hunt  one  brace  to  the  right, 
the  other  to  the  left ;  and,  so  far  as  you  can,  let  those 
which  form  a  brace  be  of  equal  speed*  Your  task  will 
be  facilitated  by  your  always  keeping  the  same  brace  to 
one  flank — I  mean,  by  making  one  brace  constantly  hunt 
to  your  right  hand ;  the  other  brace  to  your  left.  The 
same  reasoning  holds  with  regard  to  assigning  to  each 

*  A  rule  to  be  followed  whenever  you  employ  relays  of  braces. 
24* 


562  DOG-BREAKING. 

•  dog  a  particular  side  when  hunting  three,  according  to 
the  mode  described  in  last  paragraph.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  borne  in  mind,  that  constantly  him  ting 'a  dog  in 
this  manner  on  one  and  the  same  flank,  tends  to  make 
him  range  very  disagreeably  whenever  employed  single- 
handed. 

165.  If  you  hunt  five  dogs,  four  of  them  ought  to  work 
by  braces  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  fifth — the  dog 
whose  rate  of  speed  most  varies  from  the  others — should 
have  a  narrow  beat  assigned  him  directly  in  advance  of 
you. 

166.  If  three  brace  are  to  be  used,  let  the  third  brace 
hunt  the  central  ground,  as  recommended  for  the  fifth 
dog — or  they  could  be  worked  in  leashes,  one  on  the 
right  of  the  gun,  the  other  on  the  left. 

167.  These  are  the  correct  theoretical  rules,  and  the 
more  closely  you  observe  them,  the  more  truly  and  kili- 
ingly  will  your  ground  be  hunted. 

168.  Probably  you  will  think  that  such  niceties  are 
utterly  impracticable.     They  must  be  impracticable  if 
you  look  for  mathematical  precision ;  but  if  you  hope  to 
shoot  over  more  than  mere  rabble,  you  should  work  upon 
system.     If  you  do  not,  what  can  you  expect  but  an 
unorganized  mob? — an  undrilled  set,  perpetually  running 
over  each  other's  ground, — now  grouped  in  this  part, 
now  crowded  in  that, — a  few  likely  spots  being  hunted 
by  all  (especially  if  they  are  old  dogs),  the  rest  of  th« 
field  by  none  of  them ;  and  to  control  whose  unprofita 
Me  wanderings,  why  not  employ  a  regular  huntsman  and 


FIRST    LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  563 

a  well-mounted  whip  ?  Doubtless  it  would  be  absurd  to 
hope  for  perfect  accuracy  in  so  difficult  a  matter  as  a 
systematic  range  in  a  brigade  of  dogs ;  but  that  you 
may  approach  correctness,  take  a  true  standard  of  excel- 
lence. If  you  do  not  keep  perfection  in  view,  you  will 
never  attain  to  more  than  mediocrity.  I  earnestly  hope, 
however,  that  it  cannot  be  your  wish  to  take  out  a  host 
of  dogs — but  should  you  have  such  a  singular  hobby, 
pray  let  them  be  regularly  brigaded,  and  not  ernploye'd 
as  a  pack.  In  my  opinion,  under  no  circumstances  can 
more  than  relays  of  leashes  be  desirable  ;  but  I  should 
be  sorry  in  such  matters  to  dispute  any  man's  right  to 
please  himself;  I  only  wish  him,  whatever  he  does,  tc 
strive  to  do  it  correctly. 

169.  Some   men  who    shoot  on  a  grand  scale   make 
their  keepers  hunt  each  a  distinct  brace  of  dogs, — the 
gun  going  up  to  whatever  dog  points.     It  is  the  most 
killing  plan  to  adopt ;  but  that  is  not  the  matter  we 
were  considering.     The   question  was,  what  method  a 
man  ought  to  pursue  who  had  a  fancy  to  himself  hunt 
many  dogs  at  a  time. 

170.  If  a  professional  breaker  could  show  you  a  bri- 
gade of  dogs  well  trained  to  quarter  their  ground  sys- 
tematically, and  should  ask  from  fifty  to  sixty  guineas* 
a  brace  for  them,  you  ought  not  to  be  surprised.     What 

*  250  to  300  dollars.  This  would  be  by  no  means  an  extraor- 
dinary price  here,  however  extraordinary  it  might  be  to  see  dogs  so 
qualified.— H.  W.  II. 


564  DOG-BREAKTXG. 

an  extent  of  country  they  could  sweep  over  in  an  hour 
and  not  leave  a  bird  behind  !  And  consider  what  time 
and  labor  must  have  been  spent  in  inculcating  so  noble 
a  range.  He  would  have  been  far  better  paid  if  he  had 
received  less  than  half  the  money  as  soon  as  they 
"pointed  steadily,"  both  at  the  living  and  the  dead; 
"  down  charged ;"  "  backed  :"  and  were  broken  from 
"  chasing  hare,"  or  noticing  rabbits. 

171.  Some  men  fancy  that  the  faster  they  walk,  the 
more  country  they  hunt.     This  is  far  from  being  always 
the  case.     Dogs  travel  at  one  rate,  whether  you  walk 
fast  or  slow,  and  the  distance  between  the  parallels  on 
which  they  work — being  determined  by  the  fineness  of 
their  noses,  and  the  goodness  of  the  scent — ought  not  to 
be  affected  by  your  pace.     Suppose,  therefore,  that  you 
shoot  in  an  unenclosed  country,  whether  you  walk  quickly, 
or  merely  crawl  along,  the  only  difference  in  the  beat  of 
your  dogs  ought  to  be  that,  in  the  latter  case,  they  range 
further  to  the  right  and  the  left.     You  thus  make  up  in 
your  breadth  what  you  lose  in  your  length  of  beat. 

172.  Nor  do  the  fastest  dogs,  however  well  they  may 
be  broken,  always  truly  hunt  the  most  ground.     The 
sl6wer  dogs  have  frequently  finer  olfactory  nerves  than 
their  fleeter  rivals, — therefore  the  parallels  on  which  the 
former  work  may  correctly  be  much  wider  apart  than 
the  parallels  of  the  latter.     The  finer  nose  in  this  manner 
commands   so   much   more    ground  that   it   beats   the 
quicker  heels  out  and  out. 

173.  You  will  see,  then,  how  judicious  it  is  to  show 


FIRST   LESSON   IN    AUTUMN   CONTINUED.  565 

forbearance  and  give  encouragement  to  the  timid,  but 
high-bred  class*  of  dogs  described  in  114;  for  it  is 
obvious  that,  though  they  may  travel  slower,  yet  they 
may  really  hunt  properly,  within  a  specified  time,  many 
more  acres  of  ground  than  their  hardier  and  faster  com- 
petitors ;  and  it  is  certain  that  they  will  not  so  much 
alarm  the  birds.  Dogs  that  are  most  active  with  their 
heels  are  generally  least  busy  with  their  noses. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FIRST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  CONTINUED.      "  POINT  "  NOT 
RELINQUISHED  FOR    "  DOWN  CHARGE." 

174.  To  proceed,  however,  with  our  imaginary  Sep- 
tember day's  work.  I  will  suppose  that  your  young  dog 
has  got  upon  birds,  and  that  from  his  boldness  and  keen- 
ness in  hunting  you  need  not  let  him  run  riot  on  a  haunt, 
as  you  were  recommended  (in  111)  when  you  wished  to 
give  courage  and  animation  to  a  timid  dog.  You  must 
expect  that  his  eagerness  and  delight  will  make  him  run 
in  and  flush  them,  even  though  you  should  have  called 
out  "Toho"  when  first  you  perceived  his  stern  begin 

*  It  is  admitted,  however,  that  they  are  often  difficult  animals  to 
manage ;  for  the  least  hastiness  on  the  part  of  the  instructor  may 
create  a  distrust  that  he  will  find  it  very  hard  to  remove. 


566  DOG-BEEAKING. 

feathering,  and  thence  judged  that  his  olfactory  nerves 
were  rejoicing  in  the  luxurious  taint  of  game.  Hollo 
out  "  Drop  "  most  energetically.  If  he  does  not  imme- 
diately lie  down,  crack  your  whip  loudly  to  command 
greater  attention.  When  you  have  succeeded  in  making 
him  lie  down,  approach  him  quietly :  be  not  angry  with 
him,  but  yet  be  stern  in  manner.  Grasping  the  skin  of 
his  neck,  or,  what  is  better,  putting  your  hand  within  his 
collar — for  he  ought  to  wear  a  light  one — quietly  drag 
him  to  the  precise  spot  where  you  think  he  was  first 
aware  of  the  scent  of  the  birds.  There  make  him  stand 
— if  stand  he  will,  instead  of  timidly  crouching — with  his 
head  directed  towards  the  place  from  which  the  birds 
took  wing,  and  by  frequently  repeating  the  word 
"Toho,"  endeavor  to  make  him  understand  that  he 
ought  to  have  pointed  at  that  identical  spot.  Do  not 
confuse  him  by  even  threatening  to  beat  him.  The 
chances  are  twenty  to  one  that  he  is  anxious  to  please 
you,  but  does  not  yet  know  what  you  wish.  I  assume 
also  that  he  is  attached  to  you,  and  his  affection,  from 
constantly  inducing  him  to  exert  himself  to  give  satisfac- 
tion, will  greatly  devclope  his  observation  and  intelli- 
gence. 

175.  Consider  it  a  golden  rule  never  to  be  departed 
from — for  I  must  again  impress  upon  you  a  matter  of 
such  importance — invariably  to  drag  a  dog  who  has  put 
up  birds  incautiously,  or  wilfully  drawn  too  near  them., 
and  so  sprung  them — or,  what  is  quite  as  bad, — though 
young  sportsmen  will  not  sufficiently  think  of  it, — 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  567 

endangered  their  rising  out  of  shot — to  the  exact  spot 
at  which  you  judge  he  ought  to  have  pointed  at  first, 
and  awaited  your  instructions. 

176.  Think  for  one  moment  what  could  be  the  use  of 
chiding — or  beating,  as  I  have  seen  some  *****  <JO — 
the  poor  animal  at  the  spot  where  he  flushed  the  birds. 
You  are  not  displeased  with  him  (or  ought  not  to  be) 
because  the  birds  took  wing, — for  if  they  had  remained 
stationary  until  he  was  within  a  yard  of  them,  his  fault 
would  have  been  the  same :  nor  are  you  angry  with  him 
because  he  did  not  catch  them — which  interpretation  he 
might,  as  naturally  as  any  other,  put  upon  your  rating 
him  at  the  spot  where  he  flushed  them — you  are  dis- 
pleased with  him  for  not  having  pointed  at  them  steadily 
the  moment  he  became  sensible  of  their  presence.     This 
is  what  you  wish  him  to  understand,  and  this  you  can 
only  teach  him  by  dragging  him,  as  has  been  so  often 
said,  to  the  spot  at  which  he  ought  to  have  "  toho-ed  " 
them.    Your  object  is  to  give  the  young  dog,  by  instruc- 
tion, the  caution  that  most  old  dogs  have  acquired  by 
experience.     Doubtless  experience  would  in  time  con- 
vince him  of  the  necessity  of  this  caution ;  but  you  wish 
to  save  time, — to  anticipate  that  experience ;  and  by  a 
judicious  education  impart  to  him  knowledge  which  it 
would  take  him  years  to  acquire  otherwise.     What   a 
dog  gains  by  experience  is  not  what  you  teach  him,  but 
what  he  teaches  himself. 

177.  Many  carelessly-taught  dogs  will,  on  first  recog- 
nising  a  scent,  make  a  momentary  point,  and  then  slowly 


568  DOG-BREAKING. 

crawl  on  until  they  get  within  a  few  yards  of  the  game 
— if  it  be  sufficiently  complaisant  to  allow  of  such  a  neai 
approach — and  there  "  set "  as  steady  as  a  rock  by  the 
hour  together.  Supposing,  however,  that  the  birds  are 
in  an  unfriendly,  distant  mood,  and  not  willing  to  remain 
on  these  neighborly  terms,  "your  game  is  up,"  both 
literally  and  metaphorically, — you  have  no  chance  of 
getting  a  shot.  This  is  a  common  fault  among  dogs 
hastily  broken  in  the  spring. 

178.  But  to  resume  our  supposed  lesson.  You  must 
not  be  in  a  hurry — keep  your  dog  for  some  time — for  a 
long  time,  where  he  should  have  pointed.  You  may 
even  sit  down  alongside  him.  Be  patient ;  you  have  not 
come  out  so  much  to  shoot,  as  to  break  in  your  dog. 
When  at  length  you  give  him  the  wave  of  the  hand  to 
hie  him  on  to  hunt,  you  must  not  part  as  enemies,  though 
I  do  not  say  he  is  to  be  caressed.  He  has  committed  a 
fault,  and  he  is  to  be  made  sensible  of  it  by  your  altered 
manner. 

Suppose  that,  after  two  or  three  such  errors,  all 
treated  in  the  way  described,  he  makes  a  satisfactory 
point.  Hold  up  your  right  hand,  and  the  moment  you 
catch  his  eye,  remain  quite  stationary,  still  keeping  your 
arm  up.  Dogs,  as  has  been  already  observed,  are  very 
imitative ;  and  your  standing  stock  still  will,  more  than 
anything  else,  induce  him  to  be  patient  and  immovable 
at  his  point.  After  a  time — say  five  minutes,  if,  from  the 
hour  of  the  day  and  the  dog's  manner,  you  are  convinced 
that  the  birds  are  not  stirring — endeavor  to  get  up  to 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   CONTINUED.  569 

him  so  quietly  as  not  to  excite  him  to  move.  Whenever 
you  observe  him  inclined  to  advance, — of  which  his  lift- 
ing a  foot  or  even  raising  a  shoulder,  or  the  agitation  of 
his  stern  will  be  an  indication, — stop  for  some  seconds, 
and  when  by  your  raised  hand  you  have  awed  him  into 
steadiness,  again  creep  on.  Make  your  approaches 
within  his  sight,  so  that  he  may  be  intimidated  by  your 
eye  and  hand.  If  you  succeed  in  getting  near  him  with- 
out unsettling  him,  actually  stay  by  him,  as  firm  as  a 
statue,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  by  one  of  Barwise's  best 
chronometers.  Let  your  manner,  which  he  will  observe, 
show  great  earnestness.  Never  mind  the  loss  of  time. 
You  are  giving  the  dog  a  famous  lesson,  and  the  birds 
are  kindly  aiding  you  by  lying  beautifully  and  not  shift- 
ing their  ground. 

179.  Now  attempt  a  grand  coup,  in  which  if  you  are 
successful,  you  may  almost  consider  your  dog  made 
staunch  for  ever.  Keeping  your  eye  on  him,  and  your 
hand  up — of  course  the  right  one — make  a  circuit,  so 
that  the  birds  shall  be  between  him  and  you.  Be  cer- 
tain that  your  circle  is  sufficiently  wide — if  it  is  not,  the 
birds  may  get  up  behind  you,  and  so  perplex  him  that  at 
his  next  find  he  will  feel  doubtful  how  to  act.  Fire  at 
no  skirter,  or  chance  shot.  Reserve  yourself  for  the 
bird  or  birds  at  which  he  points ;  a  caution  more  neces- 
sary on  the  moors  than  on  the  stubbles,  as  grouse  spread 
while  feeding.  When  you  have  well  headed  him,  walk 
towards  him  and  spring  the  birds.  Use  straight  shoot- 
ing-powder. Take  a  cool  aim  well  forward,  and  knock 


570  DOG-BREAKING. 

down  one.  Do  not  flurry  the  dog  by  firing  more  than  a 
single  barrel,  or  confuse  him  by  killing  more  than  or<& 
bird.  If  you  have  been  able  to  accomplish  all  this  with- 
out his  stirring — though,  to  effect  it,  you  may  have  been 
obliged  to  use  your  voice — you  have  every  right  to 
hope,  from  his  previous  education,  that  he  will  readily 
"  down-charge "  on  hearing  the  report  of  your  gun. 
Do  not  hurry  your  loading: — indeed,  be  unnecessarily 
long,  with  the  view  of  making  him  at  all  such  times 
patient  and  steady.  If,  in  spite  of  all  your  calls  and 
signals,  he  ever  gives  chase  to  the  sprung  birds,  make 
him  "  drop," — instantly  if  possible — and  proceed  much 
as  described  in  174,  dragging  him  back  to  the  place 
where  he  should  have  "  down-charged." 

180.  When  you  have  loaded,  say  "Dead,"*  in  a  low 
voice,  and  signalling  to  "heel"  make  him  come  up  to 
you,  yourself  keeping  still.  By  signs — xi.  of  119 — 
place  him  as  near  as  you  can,  but  to  leeward  of  the  dead 
bird.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  say,  "  Find ; "  give  him  no 
other  assistance.  Let  him  have  plenty  of  time  to  make 
out  the  bird.  It  is  not  to  be  find  and  grip,  but  find  and 
point ,f  therefore  the  moment  you  perceive  he  is  aware 

*  As  he  acquires  experience  he  will  wish  to  rise  the  moment 
he  observes  that  your  loading  is  completed.  Do  not  allow  him  to 
move,  however  correctly  he  may  have  judged  the  time.  Let  hia 
rising  be  always  in  obedience  to  signal  or  word.  You  may  make  a 
mistake  in  charging,  or  your  friend  may  not  load  as  expeditiously  aa 
yourself. 

f  Never  being   allowed  to  grip  conduces  so  much  to    making 


FIRST   T.ESSON   IN   AUTUMN   CONTINUED.  571 

that  it  is  before  him,  make  him — by  word  of  command 
— "  toho : " — go  up  to  him,  stay  for  a  while  alongside 
him,  then  make  a  small  circuit  to  head  him,  and  have  the 
bird  between  you  and  him ;  approach  him.  If  he  attempt 
to  dash  in,  thunder  out  "  No,"  and  greet  him  with  at 
least  the  sound  of  the  whip :  slowly  pick  up  the  dead  bird ; 
call  the  dog  to  you ;  show  him  the  bird ;  but  on  no 
account  throw  it  to  him,  lest  he  snatch  at  it ;  lay  it 
on  the  ground,  encourage  him  to  sniff  it ;  let  him — for 
reason  why  see  216 — turn  it  over  with  his  nose — teeth 
closed — say  to  him,  "  Dead,  dead  ; "  caress  him  ;  sit 
down ;  smoothe  the  feathers  of  the  bird ;  let  him  perceive 
that  you  attach  much  value  to  it ;  and  after  a  while  loop 
it  on  the  game  bag,  allowing  him  all  the  time  to  see 
what  you  are  doing.  After  that,  make  much  of  him  for 
full  five  minutes:  indeed  with  some  dogs  it  would  be 
advisable  to  give  a  palatable  reward,  but  be  not  invaria- 
bly very  prodigal  of  these  allurements  ;  you  may  have  a 
pupil  whose  attention  they  might  engross  more  than  they 
ought.  Then  walk  about  a  little  time  with  him  at  your 
heels.  All  this  delay  and  caressing  will  serve  to  show 
him  that  the  first  tragedy  is  concluded,  and  has  been 
satisfactorily  performed.  You  may  now  hie  him  on  to 
hunt  for  more  birds. 

181.  Pray  mind  what  is  said  about  making  your  young- 
ster point  the  dead  bird  staunchly,  the  moment  you 
perceive  that  he  first  scents  it.  Should  he  be  allowed  to 

him  tender-mouthed,  that,  should  he  hereafter  be  permitted  to  lift  his 
game,  it  is  probable  he  will  deliver  it  up  perfectly  uninjured. 


572  DOG-BREAKING. 

approach  so  near  as  to  be  •  able  to  touch  it — instead 
of  being  made  to  point  the  instant  he  finds, — the  chances 
are,  that  if  hard-mouthed  he  will  give  it  a  crunch,  if 
tender-mouthed  a  fumbling  of  the  feathers  ;  and  either 
proceeding  satisfying  him,  that  he  will  quit  it,  and  not 
further  aid  you  in  a  search.  As  "  pointing "  is  only 
a  natural  pause — prolonged  by  art — to  determine  exactly 
where  the  game  is  lying,  preparatory  to  rushing  forward 
to  seize,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  him  willingly 
to  make  a  second  point  at  game  he  has  not  only  found 
but  mouthed — the  evil,  however,  does  not  rest  here. 
There  is  such  a  disagreeable  thing  as  blinking  a  dead  bird, 
no  less  than  blinking  a  sound  one.  For  mouthing  the 
bird  you  may  possibly  beat  the  dog,  or  for  nosing  it  and 
not  pointing  you  may  rate  him  harshly,  either  of  which, 
if  he  be  not  of  a  bold  disposition,  may  lead,  on  the  next 
occasion,  to  his  slinking  oif  after  merely  obtaining  a 
sniff.  You  ought,  in  fact,  to  watch  as  carefully  for  your 
pupil's  first  "  feathering  "  upon  the  dead  bird,  as  you  did 
— 174 — upon  his  first  coming  upon  the  covey.  You  see, 
then,  that  your  teaching  him  to  "  point  dead  "  is  absolute- 
ly indispensable;  unless,  indeed,  you  constantly  shoot 
with  a  retriever.  Pointing  at  a  live  bird  or  at  a  dead 
one  should  only  differ  in  this,  that  in  the  latter  case  the 
dog  makes  a  nearer  point.  Begin  correctly,  and  you 
will  not  have  any  difficulty;  but  you  may  expect  the 
greatest  if  you  let  your  dog  go  up  to  one  or  two  birds 
and  mouthe  them,  before  you  commence  making  him 
point  them.  The  following  season,  should  you  then 


FIKST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  573 

permit  him  to  lift  his  game,  it  will  be  time  enough  to 
dispense  with  his  "  pointing  dead."  I  dwell  upon  this 
subject  because  many  excellent  dogs,  from  not  having 
been  properly  taught  to  "point  dead,"  often  fail  in 
securing  the  produce  of  a  successful  shot,  while,  on  the 
contrary,  with  judiciously  educated  dogs  it  rarely  hap- 
pens that  any  of  the  slain  or  wounded  are  left  on  the 
fielfl.  Moreover,  the  protracted  search  and  failure — as 
an  instance  see  217 — occasions  a  lamentable  loss  of  time. 
Were  a  sportsman  who  shoots  over  dogs  not  well  broken 
to  "  point  dead  " — or  retrieve — to  calculate  accurately, 
watch  in  hand,  he  would,  I  think,  be  surprised  to  find 
how  many  of  his  best  shooting  hours  are  wasted  in 
unprofitable  searching  for  birds  of  the  certainty  of  whose 
untimely  fate  his  dogs  had  probably  long  before  fully 
convinced  themselves. 

182.  As  to  the  word  "Dead,"  whether  you  choose  to 
continue  using  it  immediately  after  loading,  or,  as  I  have 
recommended — xi.  of  119 — after  a  time  omit  it,  and 
merely  let  the  signal  to  "  heel "  intimate  that  you  have 
killed,  always  make  your  dog  go  to  you  before  you  allow 
him  to  seek  for  the  fallen  bird. 

183.  Some  may  say,  "As  a  dog  generally  sees  a  bird 
fall,  what  is  the  use  of  calling  him  to  you  before  you  let 
him  seek  ? — and  even  if  he  does  not  see  the  bird,  why 
should  any  time  be  lost  ?    Why  should  not  you  and  he 
go  as  direct  to  it  as  you  can  ?  " 

1 84.  Provided  you  have  no  wish  that  the  "  finder  " 
— see  295 — rather  than  any  of  his  companions,  should  be 


574  DOG-BREAKING. 

allowed  the  privilege  of  "  seeking  dead,"  I  must  admit 
that  in  the  cultivated  lands  of  England,  when  a  dog 
"  sees  a  bird  fall,"  he  might  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
go  direct  to  it  without  inconvenience.  Even  here,  how- 
ever, there  are  occasions  when  intervening  obstacles  may 
prevent  you  observing  what  the  dog  is  about;  and  in 
cover,  so  far  from  being  able  to  give  him  any  assistance 
by  signalling,  you  may  be  ignorant  whether  or  not  he  has 
seen  the  bird  knocked  over,  or  is  even  aware  of  the 
general  direction  in  which  he  ought  to  seek.  But  in  the 
oft-occurring  cases  in  which  "  he  does  not  see  the  bird 
fall,"  it  is  obvious — particularly  when  he  happens  to  be  at 
the  extremity  of  his  beat, — that  you  will  far  more  quickly 
place  him  where  you  wish,  if  you  make  him,  at  first, 
run  up  to  you,  and  then  advance  from  you,  straight 
to  the  bird,  by  your  forward  signal — 190.  These  good 
results  at  least  will  follow,  if  you  remain  stationary,  and 
make  him  join  you.  You  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  spot 
where  you  marked  that  the  bird  or  birds  fell.  The  foil 
is  not  interfered  with  by  your  walking  over  the  ground 
— a  matter  of  much  importance,  especially  on  bad-scent- 
ing days.  The  dog,  if  habituated  to  "seek"  without 
your  companionship,  will  readily  hunt  morasses  and 
ravines,  where  you  might  find  it  difficult  to  accompany 
him.  He  will  feel  the  less  free  to  follow  his  own  vagaries  ; 
and  this  consciousness  of  subjection  will  dispose  him 
to  pay  more  watchful  attention  to  your  signals.  He  will 
the  more  patiently  wait  at  the  "down  charge;"  and 
when  you  are  reloaded  will  not  be  so  tempted  to  dash  reck- 


FIRST    LESSON    IN   AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  575 

lessly  after  the  bird,  regardless  whether  or  not  he  raises 
others  on  the  way.  If  he  is  dragging  a  cord,  you  can  the 
more  easily  take  hold  of  its  end,  in  order  to  check  him, 
and  make  him  point  when  he  first  winds  the  dead  bird — 
and,  should  you  be  shooting  over  several  dogs,  by  none  of 
them  being  permitted  to  run  direct  to  the  fallen  bird 
they  will  the  less  unwillingly  allow  you  to  select  the 
one  who  is  to  approach  close  to  you  before  "  seeking 
dead." 

185.  The  opponents  of  this  method  argue,  that  the 
practice  may  give  the  dog  the  bad  habit  of  running 
immediately  after  the  "  down  charge  "  to  the  gun,  instead 
of  recommencing  to  hunt;   particularly  if  he   is  shot 
over  by  a  first-rate  performer.     Granted  ;  but  is  not  the 
temptation  to  bolt  off  in  search  of  a  dead  bird  still 
stronger  ?     To  check  the  former  evil,  endeavor  to  make 
the  coming  to  "  heel "  an  act  of  obedience  rather  than  a 
voluntary  act,  by  never  failing,  as   soon  as   you  are 
re-loaded,  to  give  the  customary  signal — vin.  of  119 — 
when  you  have  killed,  or  the  signal  to  "  hie  on  "  should 
you  have  missed. 

186.  Moreover,  you  will  sometimes  meet  with  a  dog 
who,  when  a  bird  has  been  fired  at,  though  it  be  the 
first  and  only  one  sprung  of  a  large  covey,  commences 
"  seeking  dead  "  immediately  after  the  "  down  charge," 
apparently  considering  that  his  first  duty.     This  sad,  sad 
fault — for  it  frequently  leads  to  his  raising  the  other 
birds  out  of  shot — is  generally  attributable  to  the  dog's 
Laving  been  allowed  to  rush  at  the  fallen  bird,  instead  of 


576  DOG-BREAKING. 

being  accustomed  to  the  restraint  of  having  first  to  run 
up  to  the  gun. 

187.  To  prevent  your  pupil  ever  behaving  so  badly, 
often  adopt  the  plan  of  not  "  seeking  dead  "  immediately 
after  loading,  especially  if  the  birds  are  lying  well. 
Mark  accurately  the  spot  where  your  victim  lies,  and 
closely  hunt  for  others,  endeavoring  to  instil  great  cau- 
tion into  the  dog,  much  in  the  manner — being  guided  by 
his  disposition  and  character— described  in  144, 145,  and 
228.  As  long  as  any  of  the  covey  remain  unsprung,  you 
ought  not  to  pick  up  one  dead  bird,  though  you  should 
have  a  dozen  on  the  ground.  Your  dog  ought  not  even 
to  "  down  charge "  after  you  have  fired,  if  he  is  fully 
aware  that  more  birds  are  before  him.  To  impart  to 
him  the  knowledge  that,  however  important  is  the  "dvwn 
charge^  his  continuing  at  his  point  is  still  more  so,  you 
may,  when  the  birds  are  lying  well  and  he  is  at  a  fixed 
point,  make  your  attendant  discharge  a  gun  at  a  little 
distance  while  you  remain  near  the  dog,  encouraging 
him  to  maintain  his  "  toho."  If  you  have  no  attendant, 
and  the  birds  lie  like  stones,  fire  off  a  barrel  yourself 
while  the  dog  is  steadily  pointing.  He  will  fancy  you 
see  birds  which  he  has  not  noticed,  and,  unless  properly 
tutored  and  praised  by  you,  will  be  desirous-  to  quit 
those  he  has  found,  to  search  for  the  bird  he  conceives 
you  have  shot. 

188.  It  is  a  fine  display  of  intelligence  in  the  dog,  and 
of  judicious  training  in  the  breaker — may  it  be  your 
desert  and  reward  ere  long  to  witness  it  in  your  pupil, — 


FIRST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  577 

when  a  pointer — or  setter — in  goodly  turnips  or  strong 
potatoes  draws  upon  birds  which  obligingly  rise  one 
after  the  other,  white  by  continuing  his  eloquent  attitude 
he  assures  you  that  some  still  remain  unsprung,  to  which 
he  is  prepared  to  lead  you  if  you  will  but  attend  to  them 
and  him,  and,  instead  of  pot-hunting  after  those  you  have 
killed,  wait  until  his  discriminating  nose  informs  him  that, 
having  no  more  strangers  to  introduce,  he  is  at  liberty 
to  assist  you  in  your  search. 

189.  To  revert,  however,  to  the  point   particularly 
under  discussion,  viz.,  whether  you  prefer  that  your  dog 
go  direct  to  the  fallen  bird,  or — as  I  strongly  recommend 
— that  he  first  join  you,  pray  be  consistent,  exact  which 
you  will,  but  always  exact  the  same,  if  you  are  anxious 
to  obtain  cheerful  unhesitating  obedience. 

190.  I  have  seen  the  advantage  of  the  latter  method 
very  strikingly  exemplified  in  America,  in  parts  of  which 
there  is  capital  snipe-shooting.*     In  the  high  grass  and 
rushes  on  the  banks  of  the  Richelieu,  many  a  bird  have 
I  seen  flushed  and  shot  at,  of  which  the  liver  and  white 
pointer,  ranging  at  a  little  distance,  has  known  nothing. 
As  he  was  well  broken  in,  on  hearing  the  report  of  the 
gun,  he,  of  course,  dropped  instantly.    His  master,  when 
he  had  reloaded,  if  the  bird  had  fallen,  used  invariably 
to  say  "  Dead,"f  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  on  which  the 

*  I  reserve  this  anecdote  on  account  of  its  interest  and  applica 
bility  to  American  readers. — H.  W.  H. 

f  In  order  to  woik  in  silence,  I  advised — xi.  of  119 — that  the  sig 
25 


578  DOG-BREAKING. 

dog  would  go  up  to  him  ;  and  then  his  master,  without 
stirring  from  the  spot  where  he  had  fired,  directed  him 
by  signals  to  the  place  where  the  bird  had  tumbled,  and 
in  proceeding  thither,  the  dog  often  had  to  swim  the 
stream.  His  master  then  said  "Find."  At  that  word, 
and  not  before  it,  his  intelligent  four-footed  companion 
commenced  the  search  for  the  bird,  nor  did  he  ever  fail 
to  find  and  bring ;  and  so  delicate  was  his  mouth  that  I 
have  often  seen  him  deliver  up  a  bird  perfectly  alive, 
without  having  deranged  a  feather,  though,  very  proba- 
bly, he  had  swam  with  it  across  one  of  the  many  creeks 
which  intersect  that  part  of  the  country.  If  the  shot  was 
a  miss,  his  master's  silence  after  reloading,  and  a  wave 
of  his  arm  to  continue  hunting — or  the  command  to  "  Hie 
on,"  if  the  dog  was  hidden  by  the  rushes — perhaps  a  low 
whistle  would  have  been  better, — fully  informed  his  com- 
panion of  the  disappointment.  He  was  quite  as  good  on 
the  large  quail,  and  small  wood-cock  found  in  Canada, 
which  latter  makes  a  ringing  noise  on  rising,  not  unlike 
the  sound  of  a  distant  soft  bell ;  but  reminiscences  of 
that  capital  old  dog  are  leading  me  away  from  your 
young  one. 

191.  For  some  days  you  cannot  shoot  to  your  pupil 
too  steadily  and  quietly — I  had  well  nigh  said  too  slowly. 
By  being  cool,  calm,  and  collected  yourself,  you  will 

ual  to  "  heel w  whenever  the  dog  could  observe  it,  should  supersede 
the  word  "dead."  It  might  be  necessary  to  sing  out  with  a  boat- 
swain's voice  should  the  dog  be  far  off. 


FIRST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  5 79 

make  him  so.  I  am  most  unwilling  to  think  that  you 
will  be  too  severe,  but  I  confess  I  have  my  misgivings 
lest  you  should  occasionally  overlook  some  slight  faults 
in  the  elation  of  a  successful  right  and  left.  Filling  the 
game-bag  must  be  quite  secondary  to  education.  Never 
hesitate  to  give  up  any  bird  if  its  acquisition  interfere} 
with  a  lesson.  Let  all  that  you  secure  be  done  accord- 
ing to  rule,  and  in  a  sportsmanlike  manner. 


CHAPTER  X. 

FIRST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  CONTINUED.       ASSISTANT. 

192.  IT  is  proper  you  should  be  warned  that  you 
must  not  always  expect  a  dog  will  "  toho  "  the  first  day 
as  readily  as  I  have  described,  though  most  will,  and 
some — especially  pointers — even  more  quickly,  if  they 
have  been  previously  well-drilled,  and  have  been  bred 
for  several  generations  from  parents  of  pure  blood. 

I  do  not  say  bred  in  and  in.  Breeding  in  and  in,  to 
a  certainty,  would  enfeeble  their  intellects  as  surely  as 
their  constitutions.  In  this  way  has  many  a  kennel  been 
deprived  of  the  energy  and  endurance  so  essential  in  a 
sportsman's  dog. 

193.  As  in  the  present  instance,  it  often  occurs  that  a 


580  DOG-BREAKING. 

doe:  is  less  inclined  to  dash  in  at  first  than  when  he  is 

o 

more  acquainted  with  birds.  He  is  suddenly  arrested 
by  the  novelty  of  the  scent,  and  it  is  not  until  he  is 
fully  assured  from  what  it  proceeds  that  he  longs  to 
rush  forward  and  give  chase.  In  autumnal  breaking 
the  dog  gets  his  bird — it  is  killed  for  him — he  is  satis- 
fied— and  therefore  he  has  not  the  same  temptation  to 
rush  in  as  when  he  is  shown  birds  in  the  spring. 

194.  If  you  find  your  dog,  from  excess  of  delight  and 
exuberance  of  spirits,  less  under  general  command  than 
from   his  initiatory  education  you   had  expected,  and 
that  he  will  not  "  toho  "  steadily  at  the  exact  spot  at 
which  you  order  him,  at  once  attach  a  checkcord  to  his 
collar.     It  will  diminish  his  pace,  and  make  him  more 
cautious  and  obedient.     The  moment  you  next  see  him 
begin  to  feather,  get  up  quickly,  but  without  running, 
to  the  end  of  the  cord,  and  check  him  with  a  sudden 
jerk,  if  you  are   satisfied  that  game  is  before  him  and 
that  he  ought  to  be  pointing.     If  from  his  attitude  and 
manner  you  are  positive  that  there  is  game,  drive  a 
spike — or  peg — into  the  ground,  and  tie  the  cord  to  it. 
I  only  hope  the  birds  will  remain  stationary.     If  they 
do,   you  can  give  him  a  capital   lesson   by  remaining 
patiently  alongside  of  him  and  then  heading  him  and 
the  birds  in  the  manner  before  described — 178,  179. 

195.  As  a  general  rule,  an  attendant  or  any  compa- 
nion cannot  be  recommended,  because  he  would  be  likely 
to  distract  a  young  dog's  attention  ;  but  an  intelligent  * 
fellow  who  would  readily  obey  your  signals,   and  not 


FIKST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONTINUED.  581 

presume  to  speak,  would  doubtless,  with  a  very  wild 
dog,  be  an  advantageous  substitute  for  the  spike.  You 
could  then  employ  a  longer  and  slighter  cord  than  usual, 
and,  on  the  man's  getting  hold  of  the  end  of  it,  be  at 
once  free  to  head  and  awe  the  dog.  Whenever  you 
had  occasion  to  stand  still,  the  man  would,  of  course, 
be  as  immovable  as  yourself. 

Your  signals  to  him  might  be : — 

The  gun  held  up, — "  Get  near  the  dog." 
Your  fist  clenched, — "  Seize  the  rope." 
Your  fist  shaken, — "  Jerk  the  cord." 
Your  hand  spread  open, — "  Let  go  the  cord.'* 
Or  any  signs  you  pleased,  so  that  you  understood  each 
other  without  the  necessity  of  speaking. 

196.  Should  it  ever  be  your  misfortune  to  have  to 
correct  in  a  dog  evil  habits  caused  by  past  mismanage- 
ment, such  an  attendant,  if  an  active,  observant  fellow, 
could  give  you  valuable  assistance,  for  he  sometimes 
would  be  able  to  seize  the  cord  immediately  the  dog 
began  "  feathering,"  and  generally  would  have  hold  of 
it  before  you  could  have  occasion  to  fire.  But  the  fault, 
most  difficult  to  cure  in  an  old  dog  is  a  bad  habit  of  rang- 
ing If,  as  a  youngster,  he  has  been  permitted  to  beat 
as  his  fancy  dictated,  and  has  not  been  instructed  in  look- 
ing to  the  gun  for  orders,  you  will  have  great,  very  great 
difficulty  in  reclaiming  him.  Probably  he  will  have, 
adopted  a  habit  of  running  for  a  considerable  distance  up 
wind,  his  experience  having  shown  him  that  it  is  one 
way  of  finding  birds,  but  not  having  taught  him  that 


582  DOG-BREAKING. 

to  seek  for  them  by  crossing  the  wind  would  be  a 
better  method. 

The  great  advantage  of  teaching  a  dog  to  point  the 
instant  he  is  sensible  of  the  presence  of  birds — 175 — and 
of  not  creeping  a  foot  further  until  he  is  directed  by  you, 
is  particularly  apparent  when  birds  are  wild.  While 
he  remains  steady,  the  direction  of  his  nose  will  lead 
you  to  give  a  tolerable  guess  as  to  their  "  whereabouts," 
and  you  and  your  companion  can  keep  quite  wide  of 
the  dog — one  on  each  side, — and  so  approach  the  birds 
from  both  flanks.  They,  meanwhile,  finding  themselves 
thus  intercepted  in  three  directions,  will  probably  lie  so 
close  as  to  afford  a  fair  shot  to  at  least  one  gun,  for  they 
will  not  fail  to  see  the  dog  and  be  awed  by  his  presence. 
Raise  your  feet  well  off  the  ground  to  avoid  making  a 
noise.  Walk  quickly,  but  with  no  unnecessary  flourish 
of  arms  or  gun. 

197.  You  must  not,  however,  too  often  try  to  work 
round  and  head  your  pupil  when  he  is  pointing.  Judg- 
ment is  required  to  know  when  to  do  it  with  advantage. 
If  the  birds  were  running,  you  would  completely  throw 
him  out,  and  greatly  puzzle  and  discourage  him,  for  they 
probably  would  then  rise  out  of  shot,  behind  you  if  they 
were  feeding  up  wind, — behind  him  if  they  were  feeding 
down  wind.  Far  more  frequently  make  him  work  out 
the  scent  by  his  own  sagacity  and  nose,  and  lead  you  up 
to  the  birds,  every  moment  bristling  more  and  more,  at 
a  pace  entirely  controlled  and  regulated  by  your  signals. 
These  being  given  with  your  right  hand  will  be  more 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   CONTINUED.  583 

apparent  to  him  if  you  place  yourself  on  his  left  side. 
It  is  in  this  manner  that  you  give  him  a  lesson  which 
will  hereafter  greatly  aid  him  in  recovering  slightly 
winged  birds, — in  pressing  to  a  rise  the  slow-winged, 
but  nimble-heeled  rail, — or  in  minutely  following  the 
devious  mazes  through  which  an  old  cock  pheasant,  or 
yet  more,  an  old  cock  grouse,  may  endeavor  to  mislead 
him.  And  yet  this  lesson  should  not  be  given  before  he 
is  tolerably  confirmed  at  his  point,  lest  he  should  push 
too  fast  on  the  scent ;  and  make  a  rush  more  like  the 
dash  of  a  cocker  than  the  sober,  convenient  "  road  "  of 
a  setter.  As  his  experience  increases  he  will  thus  acquire 
the  valuable  knowledge  of  the  position  of  his  game — he 
will  lead  you  to  the  centre  of  a  covey,  or  what  is  of 
greater  consequence — as  grouse  spread — to  the  centre 
of  a  pack, — instead  of  allowing  himself  to  be  attracted  to 
a  flank  by  some  truant  from  the  main  body, — and  thus 
get  you  a  good  double  shot,  and  enable  you  effectually 
to  separate  the  birds — he  will,  moreover,  become  watch- 
ful, and  sensible  of  his  distance  from  game — a  knowledge 
all  important,  and  which,  be  it  remarked,  he  never  could 
gain  in  turnips,  or  potatoes,  or  any  thick  cover. 

198.  There  is  another  and  yet  stronger  reason  why 
you  should  not  consider  it  a  rule  always  to  head  your 
young  dog  at  his  point.  You  may — although  at  first 
it  seems  an  odd  caution  to  give — make  him  too  stanch. 
This,  to  be  sure,  signifies  less  with  partridges  than 
with  most  birds ;  but  if  you  have  ever  seen  your  dog 
some  to  a  fixed  point,  and  there,  in  spite  of  all  your 


584  DOG-BREAKING. 

efforts,  remain  provokingly  immovable — plainly  tell- 
ing you  of  the  vicinity  of  birds,  but  that  you  must 
find  them  out  for  yourself — your  admiration  of  his 
steadiness  has,  I  think,  by  no  means  reconciled  you  to 
the  embarrassing  position  in  which  it  has  placed  you. 
I  have  often  witnessed  this  vexatious  display  of  stanch- 
ness,  although  the  owner  cheered  on  the  dog  in  a  tone 
loud  enough  to  alarm  birds  two  fields  off. 

199.  A  keeper  will  sometimes  praise  his  dog  for  such 
stanchness ;  but  it  is  a  great  fault,  induced  probably  by 
over-severity  for  former  rashness, — and  the  more  diffi- 
cult to  be  cured,  if  the  animal  is  a  setter,  from  the 
crouching  position   he   often   naturally   assumes  when 
pointing. 

200.  I  here  desire  to  warn  you  against  the  too  com- 
mon error  of  fancying  that  a  young  dog  is  making  false 
points  if  birds  do  not  get  up  directly.     They  may  have 
taken  leg-bail,  and  thus  have  puzzled  him  in  his  inex- 
perience.    Dogs  not  cowed  by  punishment  will,  after 
a  little  hunting,  seldom  make  false  points,  while  they 
are  unfatigued.     To  a  certainty  they  will  not  draw  upon 
a  false  point  for  any  distance :  therefore,  never  punish 
what  is  solely  occasioned  by  over-caution.     Your  doing 
so   would   but   increase   the   evil.     Self-confidence   and 
experience  are  the  only  cures  for  a  fault  that  would 
be  a  virtue  if  not  carried  to  excess.     Even  a  good  dog 
will  occasionally  make  a  point  at  larks  from  over-caution 
when  birds  are  wild ;  but  see  the  first  note  to  144. 

201.  After  you  have  shot  over  a  dog  a  short  time,  his 


FIRST   LESSON    IN  ^AUTUMN  CONCLUDED.  5S5 

manner  and  attitude  will  enable  you  to  guess  pretty 
accurately  whether  birds  are  really  before  him ;  whether 
they  are  far  off  or  near ;  and  whether  or  not  they  are  on 
the  move.  Generally  speaking,  the  higher  he  carries  his 
head,  and  the  less  he  stiffens  his  stern,  the  further  off 
are  the  birds.  If  he  begins  to  look  nervous,  and  become 
fidgety,  you  will  seldom  be  wrong  in  fancying  they 
are  on  the  run.  But  various,  and  at  times  most  curious, 
are  the  methods  that  dogs  will  adopt,  apparently  with 
the  wish  to  show  you  where  the  birds  are,  and  certainly 
with  the  desire  to  get  you  a  shot. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FIRST  LESSON  IN  AUTUMN  CONCLUDED.      BAB.      LEG  STRAP. 
SPIKE  COLLAR. 

202.  AFTER  a  few  trials  you  will,  I  hope,  be  able 
to  dispense  with  the  peg  recommended  in  194,  and 
soon  after  with  the  checkcord  also.  But  if  your  dog 
possesses  unusually  high  spirits,  or  if  he  travels  over  the 
ground  at  a  pace  which  obviously  precludes  his  making 
a  proper  use  of  his  nose,  it  may  be  advisable  to  fasten  to 
his  collar  a  bar,  something  like  a  diminutive  splinter-bar, 
that  it  may,  by  occasional  knocking  against  his  shins, 

25* 


586  DOG-BREAKING. 

feelingly  admonish  him  to  lessen  his  stride.  If  he  get* 
it  between  his  legs  and  thus  finds  it  no  annoyance,  attach 
it  to  both  sides  of  his  collar  from  points  near  the 
extremities.  One  of  his  forelegs  might  occasionally  be 
passed  through  the  collar ;  but  this  plan  is  not  so  good 
as  the  other;  nor  as  the  strap  on  the  hind  leg — 56. 
These  means — to  be  discarded,  however,  as  soon  as 
obedience  is  established — are  far  better  than  the  tempo- 
rary ascendancy  which  some  breakers  establish  by  low 
diet  and  excessive  work,  which  would  only  weaken  his 
spirits  and  his  bodily  powers,  without  eradicating  his  self 
will,  or  improving  his  intellect.  You  want  to  force  him, 
when  he  is  in  the  highest  health  and  vigor,  to  learn  by 
experience  the  advantage  of  letting  his  nose  dwell  longer 
on  a  feeble  scent. 

203.  I  have  made  no  mention  of  the  spiked  collar, 
because  it  is  a  brutal  instrument,  which  none  but  the 
most  ignorant  or  unthinking  would    employ.     It  is  a 
leather  collar,  into  which  nails,  much  longer  than  the 
thickness  of  the  collar,  have  been   driven,   with  their 
points  projecting  inwards.     The  French  spike-collar  is 
nearly  as  severe.     It  is  formed  of  a  series  of  wooden 
balls, — larger  than  marbles, — linked — about  two  and  a 
half  inches  apart — into  a  chain  by  stiff  wires  bent  into  the 
form  of  hooks.     These  sharp  pointed  hooks  punish  cruelly 
when  the  checkcord  is  jerked. 

204.  We  have,  however,  a  more  modern  description  of 
collar,  which  is  far  less  inhuman  than  either  of  thosr 
I   have   mentioned,  but   still    I   cannot  recormnend   its 


FIRST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN   CONCLUDED.  587 

adoption,  unless  in  extreme  cases;  for  though  not  so 
severely,  it,  likewise,  punishes  the  unfortunate  dog,  more 
or  less,  by  the  strain  of  the  checkcord  he  drags  along 
the  ground:  and  it  ought  to  be  the  great  object  of  a 
good  breaker  as  little  as  is  possible  to  fret  or  worry  his 
pupil,  that  all  his  ideas  may  be  engaged  in  an  anxious  wish 
to  wind  birds.  On  a  leather  strap,  which  has  a  ring  at 
one  end,  four  wooden  balls — of  about  two  inches  in 
diameter — are  threaded  like  beads,  at  intervals  from 
each  other  and  the  ring,  say,  of  two  inches — the  exact 
distance  being  dependent  on  the  size  of  the  dog's  throat. 
Into  each  of  the  balls  sundry  short  pieces  of  thickish 
wire  are  driven,  leaving  about  one-sixth  of  an  inch 
beyond  the  surface.  The  other  end  of  the  strap — to 
which  the  checkcord  is  attached — is  passed  through  the 
ring.  This  ring  being  of  somewhat  less  diameter  than 
the  balls,  it  is  clear,  however  severely  the  breaker  may 
pull,  he  cannot  compress  the  dog's  throat  beyond  a 
certain  point.  The  effect  of  the  short  spikes  is  rather  to 
crumple  than  penetrate  the  skin. 

205.  I  have  long  been  sensible  of  the  aid  a  spiked 
collar  would  afford  in  reclaiming  headstrong,  badly 
educated  dogs,  if  it  could  be  used  at  the  moment — and 
only  at  the  precise  moment  when  punishment  was  re- 
quired,— but  not  until  lately  did  it  strike  me  how  the 
collar  could  be  carried  so  that  the  attached  cord  should 
not  constantly  bear  upon  it,  and  thereby  worry,  if  not 
pain  the  dog.  And  had  I  again  to  deal  with  an  old 
offender,  who  incorrigibly  crept  in  after  pointing,  or 


188  DOG-BKEAKIXG. 

obstinately  "  rushed  into  dead,"  I  should  feel  much 
disposed  to  employ  a  slightly  spiked  collar  in  the  follow- 
ing manner. 

206.  That   the  mere  carrying  tHe  collar  might  not 
annoy  the  dog,  I  would  extract  or  flatten  the  nails  fixed 
on  the  top  of  the  collar,  on  the  part,  I  mean,  that  would 
lie  on  the  animal's  neck.     This  collar  I  would  place  on 
his  neck,  in  front  of  his  common  light  collar.     I  would 
then   firmly  fasten  the   checkcord,  in   the  usual   way, 
to  the  spiked  collar ;   but,  to  prevent  any  annoyance 
from  dragging  the  checkcord,  at  about  five  or  six  inches 
from  the  fastening  just  made  I  would  attach  it  to  the 
common  collar,  with  very  slight  twine — twine  so  slight 
that,  although  it  would  not  give  way  to  the  usual  drag  of 
the  checkcord,  however  long,  yet  it  would  readily  break 
on  my  having  to  pull  strongly  against  the  wilful  rush  of 
an  obstinate  dog,  when,  of  course,  the  spikes  would 
punish  him,  as  the  strain  would  then  be  borne  by  the 
spiked  collar  alone. 

207.  Guided  by  circumstances,  I  would   afterwards 
either  remove  the  spiked  collar,  or,  if  I  conceived  another 
bout  necessary,  refasten  the  checkcord  to  the  common 
collar  with  some  of  the  thin  twine,  leaving,  as  before, 
five  or  six  inches  of  the  checkcord  loose  between  the 
two  collars. 

208.  If  you  should  ever  consider  yourself  forced  to 
employ  a  spiked  collar,  do  not  thoughtlessly  imagine 
that  the  same  collar  will  suit  all  dogs.     The  spikes  for  a 
thin  coated  pointer  ought  to  be  shorter  than  for  a  course 


FIRST   LESSON   IN    AUTUMN    CONCLUDED.  589 

haired  setter!  You  can  easily  construct  one  to  punish 
with  any  degree  of  severity  you  please.  Take  a  common 
leather  collar;  lay  its  inner  surface  flat  on  a  soft  deal 
board :  through  the  leather  drive  with  a  hammer  any 
number  of  tacks  or  flat-headed  nails :  then  get  a  cobbler 
to  sew  on  another  strap  of  leather  at  the  back  of  the 
nails,  so  as  to  retain  them  firmly  in  position. 

209.  I  have  supposed  that  your  dog  has  scented  the  birds 
before  they  rose,  but  if  he  springs  them  without  having 
previously  noticed  them — as  in  some  rare  cases  happens 
even  to  well-bred  dogs — you  must  bring  him  back  to 
the  spot  at  which  you  feel  assured  that  he  ought  to  have 
been   sensible  of  their  presence,  and   there  make   him 
"Toho.J     Afterwards  endeavor  to  make  him  aware  of 
the  haunt  by  encouraging  him  to  sniif  at  the  ground 
that  the  birds  have  just  left.     The  next  time  watch  very 
carefully  for  the  slightest  indication  of  his  feathering, 
and  then  instantly  call  out  "  Toho."     After  a  few  times 
he  will,  to  a  certainty,  understand  you. 

210.  You  should  kill  outright  the  few  first  birds  at 
which  you  fire.     I  would  infinitely  prefer  that  you  should 
miss  altogether  than  that  one  of  the  two  or  three  first 
birds  should  be  a  runner.     Afterwards  you  have  full 
leave  to  merely  wing  a  bird  ;  but  still  I  should  wish  it  not 
to  be  too  nimble.     This  is  a  good  trial  of  your  judgment 
as  well  as  the  dog's.     I  hope  he  is  to  leeward  of  the 
bird,  and  that  it  will  not  catch  his  eye.     See  he  touches 
on  the  haunt.     Do  not  let  him  work  with  his  nose  to  the 
ground.     "  Up,  up,"  must  be  your  encouraging  words, 


590  DOG-BREAKING. 

— or  "  On,  on,"  according  to  circumstances, — whilst 
with  your  right  hand — iv.  of  1 1 9 — you  are  alternately 
urging  and  restraining  him,  so  as  to  make  him  advance  at 
a  suitable  pace.  From  his  previous  education,  not  being 
flurried  by  any  undue  dread  of  the  whip,  he  will  be 
enabled  to  give  his  undisturbed  attention,  and  devote 
all  his  faculties  to  follow  unerringly  the  retreating  bird. 
But  from  inexperience  he  may  wander  from  the  haunt. 
On  perceiving  this,  bring  him,  by  signals,  back  to  the 
spot  where  he  was  apparently  last  aware  of  the  scent. 
He  will  again  hit  it  off.  If  you  view  the  bird  ever 
so  far  ahead,  on  no  account  run.  I  hope  you  will  at 
length  observe  it  lie  down.  Head  it,  if  possible,  and 
strike  it  with  your  whip,  if  you  think  you  will  be  unable 
to  seize  it  with  your  hand.  Endeavor  to  prevent  its 
fluttering  away ; — it  is  too  soon  to  subject  the  youngster 
to  such  a  severe  trial  of  his  nerves  and  steadiness. 
Then, — having  put  the  poor  creature  out  of  its  misery, 
by  piercing  its  skull,  or  rapping  its  head  against  your 
gun,  as  before — 180 — show  your  dog  the  gratifying 
prize  which  your  combined  exertions  have  gained. 

211.  Should  he  unluckily  have  caught  sight  of  the 
running  bird,  and,  in  spite  of  all  your  calls,  have  rushed 
forward  and  seized  it,  you  ought  to  have  proceeded 
as  described  in  221.  Clearly,  however,  you  would  not 
have  dragged  the  dog  back  to  the  place  where  he 
"  down  charged,"  but  merely  to  the  spot  from  which  he 
had  made  his  unlawful  rush.  If  the  bird  had  been  very 
active,  it  would  have  been  far  better  to  have  fired  at  it  a 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONCLUDED.  591 

second  time — while  it  was  running — than  to  have  incurred 
the  risk  of  making  your  dog  unsteady  by  a  wild  pursuit. 
Suppose  that  it  was  not  winged,  but  rose  again  on  your 
approaching  it,  and  fluttered  off, — a  hard  trial  for  the 
young  dog, — you  must,  however,  have  made  him  bear  it, 
and  obey  your  loud  command  to  "  drop," — you  would — 
or  should — have  taken  another  shot,  and  have  proceeded 
in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  if  this  had  been  your  first 
find— 179,  180. 

212.  As  the  wounded  bird  was  to  windward  of  the  dog, 
the  course  to  follow  was  obvious, — it  was  plain  sailing  ; 
but  the  case  would  have  varied  greatly  if  the  dog  had 
been  to  windward.     Had  you  pursued  the  usual  plan,  he 
must  have  roaded  the  bird  by  the  "  foot ; "  and  the 
danger  is,  that  in  allowing  him  to  do  so,  you  may  create 
in  him  the  evil  habit  of  hunting  with  his  nose  close  to 
the  ground,  which  is,  above  all  things,  to  be  deprecated. 
You  have  another  mode — you  can  "  lift "  the  dog — I 
suppose  you  know  the  meaning  of  that  hunting  term, — 
and  make  him  take  a  large  circuit,  and  sojiead  the  bird, 
and  then  proceed  as  if  it  had  fallen  to  windward. 

213.  The  latter  plan  would   avoid  all  risk  of  your 
making  him  a  potterer,  and  it  is,  I  think,  to  be  recommend- 
ed, if  you  find  him  naturally  inclined  to  hunt  low.     But 
the  former  method,  as  a  lesson  in  "  footing,"  must  be 
often   resorted  to,  that  he  may  learn  unhesitatingly  to 
distinguish  the  "  heel "  from  the  "  toe,"  and  how  to  push 
an   old    cock-grouse,    or   to   flush   a   pheasant   running 
through  cover,  or  the  red-legged,  I  w^as  nearly  saying, 


592  DOG-BKEAKING. 

the  everlasting-legged  partridge;  *  and,  indeed,  generally, 
how  to  draw  upon  his  birds,  and  with  confidence  lead  you 
to  a  shot,  when  they  are  upon  the  move  and  running 
down  wind. — See  end  of  98  ;  and  for  further  directions, 
and  for  "seeking  dead"  with  two  dogs,  look  at  296. 
The  heavy  Spanish  pointer,  from  his  plodding  per- 
severance and  great  olfactory  powers,  was  an  excellent 
hand  at  retrieving  a  slightly  injured  bird  on  a  broiling, 
bad  scenting  day. 

214.  When  I  advised  you — 180 — to  let  the  dog  "  have 
plenty  of  time  to  make  out  the  bird,"  I  spoke  from  per- 
sonal experience,  and  from  a  vivid  recollection  of  errors 
committed  in  my  novitiate.    A  young  hand  is  too  apt  to 
imagine  that  every  bird  which  falls  to  his  gun  is  killed 
outright,  and  lying  dead  on  the  spot  where  it  fell.     He 
will,  therefore,  often  impatiently,  and  most  injudiciously, 
call  away  the  dog  who,  at  a  little  distance,  may  have 
hit-off  the  trail  of  the  winged  bird,  and  be  "  footing  "  it 
beautifully. 

215.  If  in  tfiese  lessons  you  should  lose  one  or  two 
wounded  birds,  though  it  might  not  be  a  matter  of  any 
moment  to  yourself  personally,  it  would  be  extremely 
vexatious  on  the  dog's  account,  because,  in  this  early 
stage  of  his  education,  it  would  tend  to  discourage  him. 
The  feeling  which  you  must  anxiously  foster  in  him  is 

*  The  speed  with  which  one  of  these  extremely  beautifal,  but  in 
every  other  respect  far,  far  inferior  partridges  will  run,  when 
only  slightly  wounded,  is  quite  marvellous. 


FIRST  LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONCLUDED.  593 

this,  that  after  the  word  "  find  "  *  the  search  must  never 
be  relinquished,  even  though  he  Le  constrained  to  hunt 
from  morning  till  night.  And  it  is  clear  that  to  make 
an  abiding,  valuable  impression,  this  lesson  must  be  in- 
culcated on  the  several  first  occasions  with  unremitting, 
untiring  diligence. 

216.  Persevere,  therefore,  for  an  hour,  rather  than 
give  up  a  wounded  bird.     Join  in  the  search  yourself. 
Even  if  you  see  where  it  lies,  do  not  pick  it  up  hastily. 
On  the  contrary,  leave  it,  but  mark  well  the  spot.    Keep 
on  the  move.     Hold  your  gun  as  if  in  expectation  of  a 
rise.     Pretend  to  seek  for  the  bird  in  every  direction, 
even  for  a  good  half  hour,  if  you  can  encourage  your  dog 
to  hunt  so  long.     If,  indeed,  you  see  him  flag,  and  get 
wearied  and  dispirited,  gradually  bring  him  close,  but 
to  leeward  of  the  spot  where  the  bird  lies,  in  order  to 
make  him  "point  dead"  and  be  rewarded  for  all  his 
diligence  by  finding  it  himself.     Let  him,  also,  have  a 
good  sniff  at  it  and  nose  it — but  let  there  be  no  biting 
or  mouthing — before  you  put  it  into  the*  bag.     Other- 
wise, what  return  has  he  for  the  pains  he  has  taken  ? 

217.  It  is  no  conclusive  argument  against  the  practice 
of  allowing  him  to  "nose,"  that  many  first-rate  dogs 

*  The  force  of  the  word  "Dead" — preceding  the  command 
"Find" — that  joyous,  exciting  note  of  triumph — ought  never  to  be 
lessened  by  being  employed,  as  I  have  heard  it,  to  stimulate  a  dog 
to  hunt  when  no  bird  is  down  ;  or,  like  the  shepherd-boy's  cry  of 
"Wolf!  wolf!"  it  will  have  little  influence  at  the  moment  when  it 
nhould  most  animate  to  unremitting  exertions. 


594  D  OG-BRE  AKTNG. 

have  never  been  so  indulged.  It  is  certain  that  the) 
would  not  have  been  worse  if  they  had ;  and  many  a 
dog,  that  would  otherwise  have  been  extremely  slack, 
has  been  incited  to  hunt  with  eagerness  from  having 
been  so  rewarded.  There  are  dogs  who,  from  having 
been  constantly  denied  all  "  touseling,"  will  not  even 
give  themselves  the  trouble  of  searching  for  any  bird 
which  they  have  seen  knocked  over,  much  less  think  of 
pointing  it.  They  seem  satisfied  with  this  ocular  evi- 
dence of  its  death ;  for,  odd  to  say,  these  very  dogs  will 
often  zealously  obey  the  order  to  hunt  for  any  bird 
whose  fall  they  have  not  noticed;  but  on  winding  it 
they  will  indulge  in  no  more  than  a  passing  sniff, — which 
sniff,  unless  you  are  watchful,  you  may  not  observe,  and 
so  lose  your  bird.  Never  fail,  therefore,  to  let  your  pupil 
ruffle  the  feathers  a  little,  while  you  bestow  on  him  a 
caress  or  kind  word  of  approbation.  You  then  incite  to 
perseverance,  by,  even  with  dogs,  a  very  abiding  motive, 
— "  self-interest ; "  but  mind  the  important  rule,  that  his 
"  nosing "  be  only  when  the  bird  is  in  your  possession, 
not  before  it  is  in  your  possession.  If  you  wish  to  esta- 
blish for  ever  a  confirmed  perseverance  in  "  seeking  dead," 
you  must  sacrifice  hours — I  say  it  seriously — rather  than 
give  up  any  of  the  first  wounded  birds.  Be  persuaded 
that  every  half  hour  spent  in  an  unremitting  search  for 
one  bird,  if  ultimately  successful,  will  more  benefit  the 
young  dog  than  your  killing  a  dozen  to  him,  should  you 
bag  them  the  moment  you  are  reloaded.  Of  course  you 
would  not.  when  you  are  giving  such  a  lesson  in  perseve- 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   CONCLUDED.  ,595 

ranee,  fire  at  another  bird,  even  if  it  sprang  at  your  feet, 
— for  your  doing  so,  whether  you  missed  or  killed,  would 
unsettle  the  young  dog,  and  make  him  relinquish  hk 
search.  Be  stimulated  to  present  exertion  by  the  con- 
viction, that  if  he  be  not  now  well  instructed,  you  must 
expect  him  to  lose,  season  after  season,  nearly  every 
bird  only  slightly  disabled  by  a  merely  tipped  wing. 

218.  I  hope  you  will  not  say,  as  would  most  of  our 
neighbors*  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel :  "  But  ifj 
instead  of  waiting  to  load,  I  had  gone  after  the  winged 
bird  just  as  it  fell,  when  first  I  saw  it  start  off  running, 
the  evil  you  have  now  spoken  of— 215 — could  not  have 
occurred,  for  there  would  have  been  but  little  risk  of 
losing  it."  Probably  not,  but  you  would  almost  have 
ruined  your  dog;  and  to  secure  this  one  bird,  in  all 
likelihood  you  would  subsequently  lose  a  hundred.f 
How  could  you  with  justice  blame  him  if,  when  next 

*  In  favor  of  such  unsportsman-like  haste  they  ingeniously  argue 
that  a  continued  noise  after  firing  makes  birds  lie,  from  attracting 
their  attention.  They  say  that  a  sudden  change  to  quiet — and  a 
great  change  it  must  be,  for  a  chasseur  is  always  talking — alarms 
the  birds.  As  an  evidence  of  this,  they  adduce  the  well-known 
fact  of  its  frequently  happening  that  a  partridge  gets  up  the 
moment  the  guns  have  left  the  spot,  though  no  previous  noise  had 
induced  it  to  stir. 

f  Had  you  lost  the  bird  from  there  being  but  little  scent,  it  is 
probable  you  might  have  found  it  by  renewing  your  search  on  your 
return  homewards  in  the  evening.  If  a  runner,  it  would  moat  likely 
have  rejoined  the  covey. 


596  DOG-BREAKING. 

you  killed,  he  r  ished  headlong  after  the  bird — instead 
of  dropping  patiently  to  the  "  down  charge  " — and  so 
sprung  a  dozen  birds  while  you  were  unloaded  ? 

219.  Perhaps  you  will  say,  "  You  tell  me  to  fire  at  a 
running  bird,  b'lt  when  a  winged  cock-pheasant  or  red- 
legged  partridge  is  racing  off  out  of  shot,  how  am  I  to 
get  it  if  I  proceed  in  the  slow,  methodical  manner  you 
advise  ?  May  it  not  lead  me  an  unsuccessful  dance  for 
an  hour,  if  I  do  not  allow  the  dog  to  shoot  ahead  and 
seize  ?  "  It  may — but  I  hope  months  will  pass  before 
you  witness  such  agility — and  this  shows  that  those  who 
do  not  employ  a  retriever,  and  yet  are  sticklers  for  a 
setter's — or  pointer's — never  being  permitted  to  touch  a 
feather,  must  on  such  occasions  get  into  a  dilemma; 
and,  unless  they  are  willing  to  lose  the  bird,  must  plead 
guilty  to  the  inconsistency  of  being  pleased — however 
loudly  they  may  roar  out  "  Toho,"  "  ware  dead," — when 
they  see  their  dog,  in  defiance  of  all  such  calls,  disable 
it  by  a  sudden  grip.  This  plan,  though  frequently  fol- 
lowed, cannot  be  correct.  They  blame  the  dog  for 
doing  what  they  really  wish !  and  if  he  be  too  tender- 
mouthed  to  injure  the  bird,  he  keeps  them  at  top  speed, 
while  he  is  alternately  picking  up  the  unfortunate  crea- 
ture— acting  on  his  natural  impulses — and  letting  it  fall, 
on  being  rated.  I  therefore  repeat,  that  even  if  you  do 
not  wish  your  dog  constantly  to  retrieve — 292 — you 
would  still  act  judiciously  in  teaching  him  as  a  puppy 
to  fetch — 86 — for  then  he  will  give  chase  to  the  winged 
bird,  and  bring  it  to  you  on  getting  the  order,  instead  of 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN   CONCLUDED.  597 

permitting  it  to  escape  for  a  fresh  burst,  or  carrying  it 
off,  as  I  have  seen  done.  You  thus  maintain  discipline. 
The  dog  will  do  what  you  wish,  in  obedience  to  orders, 
— not  in  opposition  to  orders.  The  sticklers  for  dogs 
never  being  allowed  to  nose  a  feather  ought,  unless  they 
are  quite  willing  to  give  up  slightly-winged  birds,  not  to 
shrink  from  the  difficult  task  of  teaching  their  pupils 
to  stop  and  retain  with  their  paws. 

220.  We  have  only  spoken  of  instances  180,  210,  212, 
in  which  all  has  gone  on  smoothly,  the  dog  most  obe- 
diently dropping  to  shot  and  permitting  you  to  take  up 
the  bird  notwithstanding  the  poor  creature's  death-strug- 
gles.    Suppose,  however,  and  this  rnay  probably  happen, 
that  he  does  not  restrain  himself  at  the  "  down  charge," 
but,  in  spite  of  all  your  calls  and  signals,  rushes  forward, 
yet  yields  to  your  menaces  and  halts  in  mid-career.     It 
is  well — your  course  is  clear ;  you  have  to  lug  him  back 
and  threaten  and  lecture  him.     But  should  he  not  check 
himself  until  he  sniffs  the  game,  his  stop  then  becomes  a 
"  point ;"  and  if  he  is  of  a  timid  disposition,  or  has  ever 
evinced  any  disposition  to  blink,  you  dare  not  force  him 
to  retrace  his  steps  lest  he  should  mistake  your  motives, 
and  fancy  himself  encouraged  to  abandon  his  point.     If 
you  merely  make  him  "  down  charge,"  you  violate  the 
axiom  named  in  255.     In  short  you  are  in  a  difficulty. 
It  is  a  nice  case,  in  which  your  own  judgment  of  the 
dog's  character  can  alone  decide  you. 

221.  But,  if  from  inadequate  initiatory  instruction — for 
I  will  maintain  that  such  marked  rebellion  can  arise  from 


598  DOG-BKEAKING. 

no  other  cause — in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  he 
actually  rushes  in  and  seizes  the  bird,  he  must  be  punished, 
I  am  sorry  to  say  it ;  but  however  much  we  may  deplore; 
it,  Tie  must  •  for  he  has  been  guilty  of  great  disobedience, 
and  he  well  knows  that  he  has  been  disobedient.  But  the 
temptation  was  strong,  perhaps  too  strong,  for  canine 
nature — that  is  to  say,  for  canine  nature  not  early  taught 
obedience.  The  wounded  bird  was  fluttering  within 
sight  and  hearing — it  was,  too,  the  first  he  had  ever 
seen, — and  this  is  almost  his  first  glaring  act  of  disobe- 
dience ;  be  therefore  merciful,  though  firm.  Make  him 
"drop."  Get  up  to  him  at  once.  Probably  he  will 
relinquish  his  grip  of  the  bird ;  if  not,  make  him  give  it 
up  to  you,  but  do  not  pull  it  from  him  :  that  would  only 
increase  the  temptation  to  tear  it.  Lay  it  on  the  ground. 
Then  drag  him  back  to  the  spot  from  which  he  rushed ; 
there  make  him  lie  down.  Rate  him.  Call  out  "  Toho."* 
Crack  the  whip  over  him — and,  I  am  pained  to  add, 
make  use  of  it — but  moderately,  not  severely.  Three  or 
four  cuts  will  be  enough,  provided  he  has  not  torn  the 
bird ;  if  he  has,  his  chastisement  must  be  greater.  Let 
him  now  have  one  nibble  without  punishment,  and  soon 
a  whole  carcase  will  not  suffice  for  his  morning's  meal. 
Do  not  strike  him  across  the  body,  but  lengthwise. 

222.  An  ill-tempered  dog  might  attempt  to  bite  you. 
Prevent  the  possibility  of  his  succeeding,  by  grasping 

*  «'  Toho,"  rather  than  "  Drop," — y our  object  now  being  to  make 
him  stand  at,  and  prevent  his  mouthing  game  ;  for  you  are  satisfied 
that  he  would  have  "  down  charged  "  had  the  bird  been  missed. 


FIRST   LESSON   IN   AUTUMN    CONCLUDED.  599 

and  twisting  his  collar  with  your  left  hand,  still  keeping 
him  at  the  "  down."  Consider  coolly  whether  you  are 
flagellating  a  thick-coated  dog,  or  one  with  a  skin  not 
much  coarser  than  your  own.  Pause  between  each  cut ; 
and,  that  he  may  comprehend  why  he  is  punished,  call 
out  several  times,  but  not  loudly,  "  Toho — bad — toho," 
and  crack  your  whip.  Let  your  last  strokes  be  milder 
and  milder,  until  they  fall  in  the  gentlest  manner — a 
manner  more  calculated  to  awaken  reflection  than  give 
pain.  When  the  chastisement  is  over  stand  close  in 
front  of  him,  the  better  to  awe  him,  and  prevent  his 
thinking  of  bolting.  Put  the  whip  quietly  in  your 
pocket,  but  still  remain  where  you  are,  occasionally 
rating  and  scolding  him  while  you  are  loading;  gra- 
dually, however,  becoming  milder  in  manner  that  he 
may  be  sensible  that  though  your  dissatisfaction  at  his 
conduct  continues,  his  punishment  is  over — 241  to  242. 
Indeed,  if  you  have  any  fear  of  his  becoming  too  timid, 
you  may  at  length  fondle  him  a  little,  provided  that 
while  you  so  re-encourage  him,  you  continue  to  say 
"  Toho — toho,"  most  impressively — then,  giving  him  the 
wind,  go  up  together  to  the  bird  and  make  him  "  point 
dead  "  close  to  it.  Take  it  up,  and  let  him  fumble  the 
feathers  before  you  loop  it  on  the  bag. 

223.  Never  let  a  dog  whom  you  have  been  forced  to 
chastise  bolt  or  creep  away  until  you  order  him.  If  he 
is  ever  allowed  to  move  off"  at  his  wish,  he  will  improve 
upon  the  idea,  and  on  the  next  occasion  will  far  too 
soon  anticipate  yours.  And  do  not  send  him  off  until 


600  DOG-BREAKING. 

he  has  given  some  evidence  of  having  forgiven  you, 
and  of  his  desire  to  be  reconciled,  by  crawling  towards 
you,  for  instance,  or  wagging  his  tail.  On  no  occasion- — 
under  circumstances  of  ever  such  great  provocation — be 
so  weak  or  irritable — but  I  hope  you  do  not  need  the 
warning — as  to  give  him  a  kick  or  a  blow  when  he  is 
going  off.  He  ought  to  have  stood  with  reassured  con- 
fidence alongside  of  you,  for  perhaps  a  minute  or  so, 
before  you  sanctioned  his  departure;  and  the  severer 
his  punishment  the  longer  should  have  been  the  deten- 
tion. You  are  always  to  part  tolerable  friends,  while  he 
feels  perfectly  convinced  that  his  chastisement  is  over. 
If  you  do  not,  you  may  find  it  rather  difficult  to  catch 
him  when  he  commits  another  fault.  It  will  be  owing 
to  your  own  injudiciousness  if  he  ever  becomes  afraid  of 
approaching  you  after  making  a  blunder.  Should  he  be 
so,  sit  down.  He  will  gradually  draw  near  you ;  then 
quietly  put  your  hand  on  his  collar. 

224.  If  a  man  cannot  readily  get  hold  of  any  dog 
under  his  tuition  whom  he  desires  to  rate  or  punish,  you 
may  be  certain  that  he  fails  either  in  temper  or  judg- 
ment ;  perhaps  in  both.  He  may  be  an  excellent  man, 
jbut  he  cannot  be  a  good  dog-breaker.  There  are  men 
who  get  quite  enraged  at  a  dog's  not  coming  instantly  to 
;"  heel  "  on  being  called.  When  at  length  the  poor  brute 
does  come  within  reach,  he  gets  a  blow,  perhaps  a  licking 
— a  blow  or  licking,  he  has  the  sense  to  see  he  should 
have  longer  avoided  had  he  stayed  longer  away.  Thus 
the  punishment  increases  instead  of  .remedying  the  evil. 


FIRST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN    CONCLUDED.  601 

225.  Never  correct  or  even  rate  a  dog,  in  the  mere 
belief  that  he  is  in  error ;  be  first  convinced  of  his  guilt. 
If  you  have  good  reason  to  suspect  that  unseen  by  you 
he  has  wilfully  sprung  birds,  still  rather  give  him  an 
earnest  caution  than  any  severer  rebuke.     It  is  not  easy 
to  repair  the  mischief  occasioned  by  unjust  punishment. 
When  from  his  sheepish  look,  or  any  other  cause,  you 
imagine  that  he  has  raised  game,  either  through  heed- 
lessness  or  from  their  being  unusually  wild,  be  sure  to  give 
him  a  short  lecture,   and  accompany  him  to  the  haunt. 
A  lingering  bird  may  occasionally  reward  you.     If  his 
manner  has  led  you  to  form  an  incorrect  opinion,  your 
warning  can  have  no  other  effect  than  to  increase  his 
caution — rarely  an  undesirable  result ; — and  if  you  are 
right  the  admonition  is  obviously  most  judicious. 

226.  Let  me  caution  you  against  the  too    common 
error  of  punishing  a  dog  by  pulling  his  ears.     It  has 
often  occasioned  bad  canker.     Some  men  are  of  opinion 
that  it  is  frequently  the  cause  of  premature  deafness. 
When  you  rate  him  you  may  lay  hold  of  an  ear   and 
shake  it,  but  not  with  violence. 

227.  I  would  strongly  recommend  you  always  to  make 
your  young  dog  "  drop  "  for  half-a-minute  or  so,  when  he. 
sees  a  hare ;  or  when  he  hears  a  bird  rise.*    To  effect 
this,  stand  still  yourself.     After  a  few  seconds  you  can 
either  hie  him  on,  or,  which  is  yet  better,  get  close  to 

*  Of  course,  with  the  proviso  that  he  is  not  pointing  at  another 
bird— 187, 

26 


602  DOG-BREAKING. 

him  if  you  expect  other  birds  to  spring.  You  will  thus, 
especially  in  potatoes  or  turnips,  often  obtain  shots  at 
birds  which  would  have  made  off,  had  he  continued  to 
hunt,  and  early  in  the  season  be  frequently  enabled  to 
bag  the  tail-bird  of  a  covey.  This  plan  will  also  tend  to 
make  him  cautious,  and  prevent  his  getting  a  habit  of 
blundering-up  birds,  and  cunningly  pretending  not  to 
have  noticed  their  escape.  It  will  also  make  him  less 
inclined  to  chase  hares  and  rabbits,  or  rush  at  a  fallen 
bird. 

228.  On  approaching  a  piece  of  turnips,  you  may 
have  heard,  "  Let  us  couple  up  all  the  dogs  excepting 
Old  Don  :"  the  veteran's  experience  having  shown  him, 
that  the  only  effect  of  his  thundering  through  them 
would  be  to  scare  every  bird  and  make  it  rise  out  of 
shot.  You,  on  the  contrary,  when  your  pupil  is  well 
confirmed  in  his  range,  and  has  some  knowledge  of  his 
distance  from  game,  ought  to  wish  the  other  dogs  kept 
to  "  Heel " — especially  when  the  seed  has  been  broad- 
cast,— that  by  the  word  "  Care "  and  the  right  hand 
slightly  raised  you  may  instil  into  him  the  necessary 
caution  and  so,  by  judicious  tuition,  give  him  the  bene- 
fit of  your  own  experience.  Most  probably  you  would 
be  obliged  to  employ  the  checkcord,*  which  I  presume  to 
be  always  at  hand  ready  for  occasional  use.  Or  you 
might  strap  your  shot-belt  round  his  throat,  for  it  is 

*  Le~st  the  cord  should  cut  the  turnip-tops,  it  might  be  better  to 
employ  the  elastic  band  spoken  of  in  56. 


FIRST   LESSON    IN    AUTUMN   CONCLUDED.  603 

essential  that  he  traverse  such  ground  slowly,  and  great- 
ly contract  his  range — see  145.  The  several  cross 
scents  he  will  encounter  should  afford  him  a  valuable 
lesson  in  detecting  the  most  recent,  and  in  discriminat- 
ing between  the  "  heel  and  toe  "  of  a  run.  Be  patient, 
— give  him  time  to  work,  and  consider  what  he  is  about. 
It  is  probable  that  he  will  frequently  overrun  the  birds 
on  their  doubling  back,  and  imagine  that  they  are  gone. 
Should  he  do  so,  bring  him  again  on  the  spot  where  he 
appeared  to  lose  the  scent.  He  now  rushes  up  the 
adjacent  drill.  "  Slower,  slower,"  signals  your  right 
arm  ;  "  go  no  faster  than  I  can  walk  comfortably."  On 
the  other  hand,  the  birds  may  lie  like  stones.  Not 
until  you  have  remained  nearly  a  minute  alongside 
of  him  let  him  urge  them  to  rise ;  and  make  him  effect 
this,  not  by  a  sudden  dash,  but  by  steadily  pressing  on 
the  scent.  Bear  in  mind,  as  before  warned — 143 — that 
the  confidence  with  which  he  can  here  creep  on  to  a 
near  find  may  lead,  if  he  is  now  mismanaged,  to  his 
springing  on  future  occasions,  from  want  of  care,  many  a 
bird  at  which  he  ought  to  get  you  a  shot. 

229.  If  you  can  contrive  it,  let  your  pupil  have  some 
little  experience  in  the  field  before  you  give  him  a  real 
lesson  in  "  Gone  " — or  "  Flown."  Instead  of  being  per- 
plexed, he  will  then  comprehend  you.  Should  you, 
therefore,  during  the  first  few  days  of  hunting  him,  see 
birds  make  off  in  lieu  of  taking  him  to  the  haunt — as 
many  breakers  erroneously  do, — carefully  keep  him  from 
the  spot.  You  cannot  let  him  run  riot  over  the  reeking 


604  DOG-BREAKING. 

scent  without  expecting  him  to  do  the  same  when  next 
lie  finds ;  and  if,  in  compliance  with  your  orders,  he 
points,  you  are  making  a  fool  of  him — there  is  nothing 
before  him  ;  and  if  he  does  not  fancy  you  as  be- 
wildered as  himself,  he  will  imagine  that  the  ex- 
hilarating effluvia  he  rejoices  in  is  the  sum  total  you 
both  seek.  This  advice,  at  first  sight,  may  appear  to 
contradict  that  given  in  111  and  209;  but  look  again, 
and  you  will  find  that  those  paragraphs  referred  to 
peculiar  cases.  Should  your  young  dog  be  loitering  and 
sniffing  at  a  haunt  which  he  has  seen  birds  quit,  he  cannot 
well  mistake  the  meaning  of  your  calling  out,  "  Gone, 
gone." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SHOOTING  HARES.       COURAGE  IMPARTED. "  BACKING  " 

TAUGHT. 

230.  PROBABLY  you  may  be  in  a  part  of  the  country 
where  you  may  wish  to  kill  hares  to  your  dog's  point. 
I  will,  therefore,  speak  about  them,  though  I  confess 
I  cannot  do  it  with  much  enthusiasm.  Ah !  my  English 
friend,  what  far  happier  autumns  we  should  spend  could 
we  but  pass  them  in  the  Highlands !  Then  we  should 
think  little  about  those  villanous  hares.  We  should  direct 


SHOOTING    HARES.  605 

the  whole  undivided  faculties  of  our  dogs,  to  work  out 
the   haunt   of   the   noble   grouse.*     As   for   rabbits,   I 

*  A  superior  dog  on  grouse  more  easily  becomes  good  on  partridge 
than  a  superior  partridge-dog  becomes  good  on  grouse.  Grouse  run 
so  much,  both  when  they  are  pairing,  and  after  the  first  flight  of  the 
young  pack,  that  a  dog  broken  on  them  has  necessarily  great 
practice  in  "  roading," — "  roading,"  too,  with  the  nose  carried  high 
to  avoid  strong  heather — a  valuable  instructor, — whereas  the  dog 
broken  on  partridge  often  becomes  impatient,  and  breaks  away  when 
he  first  finds  grouse.  The  former  dog,  moreover,  will  learn  not 
to  "  break  fence,"  and  the  necessity  of  moderating  his  pace  when 
hunting  stubbles  and  turnips,  sooner  than  the  latter  will  acquire  the 
extensive  fast  beat  so  desirable  on  heather,  where  he  can  work 
for  hours  uninterrupted  by  hedge,  ditch,  or  furrow ;  making  casts 
to  the  right  and  left  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  First  impressions 
are  as  strong  in  puppyhood  as  in  childhood  ;  therefore  the  advantage 
of  having  such  ground  to  commence  on  must  be  obvious.  There  are, 
however,  favored  spots  in  Perthshire,  (fee.,  where  game  so  abounds 
that  close  rangers  are  as  necessary  as  when  hunting  in  England. 
Alas!  even  the  grouse-dog  will  take  far  too  quickly  to  hedge 
bunting:  and  pottering  when  on  the  stubbles.  It  is,  of  course, 
presumed  that  he  is  broken  from  "  chasing  hare " — a  task  his 
trainer  must  have  found  difficult — though  none  are  ever  shot  to  him 
— from  the  few  that,  comparatively  speaking,  his  pupil  could  have 
seen.  Independently,"however,  of  want  of  pace  and  practice  in 
roading,  it  never  would  be  fair  to  take  a  dog  direct  from  the 
Lowlands  to  contend  on  the  Highlands  with  one  habituated  to 
the  latter, — and  vice  versa,  for  the  stranger  would  always  be  placed 
to  great  disadvantage.  A  faint  scent  of  game  which  the  other 
would  instantly  recognise,  he  would  not  acknowledge  from  being 
nrholly  unaccustomed  to  it.  Sometimes,  however,  a  grouse  dog 
of  a  ticklish  temper  will  not  bear  being  constantly  called  to  OP 


606  DOG-BREAKING. 

beg  we  may  have  no  further  acquaintance,  if  you  ever 
even  in  imagination,  shoot  them  to  your  young  dog. 
Should  you  be  betrayed  into  so  vile  a  practice,  you  must 
resign  all  hope  of  establishing  in  him  a  confirmed  syste- 
matic range.  He  will  degenerate  into  a  low  potterer, 
— a  regular  hedge-hunter.  In  turnips  he  will  always  be 
thinking  more  of  rabbits  than  birds.  It  will  be  soon 
enough  to  shoot  the  little  wretches  to  him  when  he  is  a 
venerable  grandfather.  The  youngster's  noticing  them 
— which  he  would  be  sure  to  do  if  you  had  ever  killed 
one  to  him — might  frequently  lead  to  your  mis-instructing 
him,  by  earnestly  enforcing  "  Care  "  at  a  moment  when 
you  ought  to  rate  him  loudly  with  the  command  "  Ware  " 
— or  "  No."  But  to  our  immediate  subject. 

231.  Defer  as  long  as  possible  the  evil  day  of  shooting 
a  hare  over  him,  that  he  may  not  get  too  fond — 65 — 
of  such  vermin — I  beg  pardon,  I  mean  game — and  when 

"breaking  fence."     A  fine,  free-ranging   pointer,  belonging  to  one 

of  the   brothers  H y,  when  brought  to  an   enclosed  country, 

became  quite  subdued  and  dispirited.  He  could  not  stand  the 
rating  he  received  for  bounding  over  the  hedges,  and  he  evidently 
derived  no  enjoyment  from  the  sport,  though  there  were  plenty 
of  birds.  On  returning  to  the  Highlands,  he  quite  recovered  his 
animation  and  perseverance.  He  added  another  to  the  many  evi- 
dences that  dogs  are  most  attached  to,  and  at  home  on,  the  kind  of 
country  they  first  hunted. 

[  This  note  is  applicable  to  the  pointer,  used  to  the  pinnated  grouse 
on  the  Prairies,  when  brought  into  close  shooting  on  quail,  <fec.] 

H.  W.  H. 


SHOOTING   HARES.  607 

you  do  kill  one,  so  manage  that  he  may  not  see  it 
put  into  the  bag.  On  no  account  let  him  mouthe  it, 
irou  want  him  to  love  the  pursuit  of  feather  more  than  of 
fur,  that  he  may  never  be  taken  off  the  faintest  scent  of 
birds  by  coming  across  the  taint  of  a  hare.  I  therefore 
entreat  you,  during  his  first  season,  if  you  will  shoot 
hares,  to  fire  only  at  those  which  you  are  likely  to 
kill  outright ;  for  the  taint  of  a  wounded  hare  is  so 
strong  that  it  would  probably  diminish  his  zeal,  and  the 
sensitiveness  of  his  nose,  in  searching  for  a  winged  bird. 

232.  The  temptation  is  always  great  to  quit  for  a 
strong  scent  of  hare — which  any  coarse-nosed  dog  can 
follow — a  feeble  one  of  birds;  therefore  it  is  a  very 
satisfactory  test  of  good  breaking  to  see  a  dog,  when  he 
is  drawing  upon  birds,  in  no  way  interrupted  by  a  hare 
having  just  crossed  before  him.  If  you  aim  at  such 
excellence,  and  it  is  frequently  attained  in  the  Highlands, 
it  is  certain  you  must  not  shoot  hares  over  your  young 
ster. 

233.1  hope  that  he  will  not  see  a  hare  before  you  have 
shot  a  few  birds  over  him.  The  first  that  springs  up 
near  him  will  test  the  perfection  to  which  he  has  attained 
in  his  initiatory  lessons.  Lose  not  a  moment.  It  is 
most  essential  to  restrain  instantaneously  the  naturally 
strong  impulse  of  the  dog  to  run  after  four-footed  game. 
Halloo  out  "  Drop  "  to  the  extent  of  your  voice, — raise 
your  hand, — crack  your  whip, — do  all  you  can  to  prevent 
his  pursuing.  Of  course  you  will  not  move  an  inch. 
Should  he  commence  running,  thunder  out  "  No,"  "  no." 


008  DOG-BREAKING. 

If,  in  spite  of  everything,  he  bolts  after  the  hare,  you 
have  nothing  for  it  but  patience.  It's  no  use  to  give 
yourself  a  fit  of  asthma  by  following  him.  You  have 
only  half  as  many  legs  as  he  has — a  deficiency  you  would 
do  well  to  keep  secret  from  him  as  long  as  possible. 
Wait  quietly  where  you  are — for  an  hour  if  necessary. 
You  have  one  consolation, — puss,  according  to  her  usual 
custom,  has  run  down  wind, — your  dog  has  lost  sight  of 
her,  and  is,  I  see,  with  his  nose  to  the  ground,  giving 
himself  an  admirable  lesson  in  roading  out  a  haunt. 
After  a  time  he  will  come  back  looking  rather  ashamed 
of  himself,  conscious  that  he  did  wrong  in  disobeying, 
and  vexed  with  himself  from  having  more  than  a  suspicion 
forced  upon  him,  that  he  cannot  run  so  fast  as  the  hare. 
When  he  has  nearly  reached  you,  make  him  "  drop." 
Scold  him  severely,  saying,  "  Ware  chase  " — a  command 
that  applies  to  the  chase  of  birds  as  well  as  of  hares. — 
Pull  him  to  the  place  where  he  was  when  first  he  got 
a  view  of  the  hare, — make  him  lie  down — rate  him  well, 
—call  out  "  No,"  or  "  Hare,"  or  "  Ware  chase,"  or  any 
word  you  choose,  provided  you  uniformly  employ  the 
same.  Smack  the  whip  and  punish  him  with  it,  but  not 
so  severely  as  you  did  when  we  assumed  that  he  tore 
the  bird — end  of  221.  You  then  flogged  him  for  two 
offences  :  first,  because  he  rushed  in  and  seized  the  bird  ; 
secondly,  because  he  tore  it  and  tasted  blood.  If  you 
had  not  then  punished  him  severely,  you  could  never  have 
expected  him  to  be  tender-mouthed.  On  the  next  occa- 
sion he  might  have  swallowed  tho  bird,  feathers  and  all. 


SHOOTING    HARES.  600 

234.  Should  he  persist  in  running  after  hares,  you  must 
employ  the  checkcord.      If  you  see  the  hare,  at  which  he 
is  pointing,  in  its  form,  drive  a  peg  firmly  into  the  ground, 
and  attach  the  cord  to  it,  giving  him  a  few  slack  yards, 
so  that  after  starting  off  he  may  be  arrested  with  a 
tremendous  jerk.     Fasten   the  line  to  the  part  of  the 
spike  close  to  the  ground,  or  he  may  pull  it  out. 

235.  I  have  known  a  dog  to  be  arrested  in  a  head- 
long chase  by  a  shot  fired  at  him — an  act  which  you 
will  think   yet  more   reprehensible   than  the   previous 
mismanagement  for  which  his  owner  apparently  knew 
no  other  remedy  than  this  hazardous  severity. 

236.  When   you  are  teaching   your   dog  to   refrain 
from  chasing  hares,  take  him,  if  you  can,  where  they  are 
plentiful.     If  they  are  scarce,  and  you  are  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  rabbit-warren,  visit  it  occasionally  of  an 
evening.     He  will  there  get  so  accustomed  to  see  the  little 
animals  running  about  unpursued  by  either  of  you,  that 
his  natural  anxiety  to  chase  fur,  whether  it  grow  on  the 
back  of  hare  or  rabbit,  will  be  gradually  diminished. 

237.  In  Scotland  there  are  tracts  of  heather  where 
one  may  hunt  for  weeks  together  and  not  find  a  hare ; 
indeed,  it  is  commonly  observed,  that  hares  are  always 
scarce   on  those  hills  where  grouse  most  abound.     In 
other  parts  they  are  extremely  numerous.     Some  sports 
men  in  the  Highlands  avail  themselves  of  this  contrasted 
ground  in  order  to  break  a  young  dog  from  "  chasing." 
They  hunt  him,  as  long  as  he  continues  fresh,  where 
there  are  no  hares;  and  when  he  becomes  tired,  they 


6  it)  DOG-BREAKING. 

take  him  to  the  Lowlands,  where  they  are  plentiful. 
By  then  killing  a  good  many  over  him,  and  severely 
punishing  him  whenever  he  attempts  to  follow,  a  cure 
is  often  effected  in  two  or  three  days.  In  the  yet  higher 
ranges,  the  mountain-hares,  from  possessing  a  peculiarly 
strong  scent,  and  not  running  to  a  distance,  are  a  severe 
trial  to  the  steadiest  dog. 

238.  Killing  a  sitting  hare  to  your  dog's  point  will 
wonderfully  steady  him  from  chasing ;   but  do  not  fire 
until  he  has  remained  stanch  for  a  considerable  time. 
This  will  show  him  that  puss  is  far  more  likely  to  be 
bagged  by  your  firing  than  by  his  pursuing. 

239.  For   the   same  object, — I  mean  to  make  your 
young  dog  stanch, — I  would  recommend  your  killing  a 
few  birds  on  the  ground  to  his  point  were  it  not  that 
you  rarely  have  the  opportunity. 

240.  When  you  have  made  your  dog  perfectly  steady 
from  chasing  you  may — supposing  you  have  no  retriever 
at   hand, — naturally  enough,  inquire   how  you   are  to 
teach  him  to  follow  any  hare  you  may  be  so  unlucky  as 
merely  to  wound.     I  acknowledge  that  the  task  is  dim- 
cult.     I  would  say,  at  once  resolve  to  give  up  every 
wounded  hare  during  his  first  season.*     The  following 
year,  provided  you  find  that  he  remains  quite  steady,  on 
your  wounding  an  unfortunate  wretch,  encourage  your 

*  This  appears  extremely  cruel ;  remember,  however,  that  I  en- 
treated you  to  abstain  entirely  from  shooting  hares ;  but  if  you 
would  not  make  this  sacrifice,  at  least "  only  to  fire  at  those  which 
you  were  likely  to  kill  outright" — 231. 


SHOOTING    HAKES.  611 

dog  to  pursue  it  by  running  yourself  after  it.  When  he 
gets  hold  of  it,  check  him  if  he  mauls  it,  and  take  it  from 
him  as  quickly  as  possible.  As  I  cannot  suppose  that 
you  are  anxious  to  slaughter  every  hare  you  see,  let  the 
next  two  or  three  go  off  without  a  shot.  This  forbear- 
ance will  re-steady  him,  and  after  a  while  his  own  saga- 
city and  nose — 297 — will  show  him  that  the  established 
usage  was  departed  from  solely  because  puss  was  severe- 
ly struck. 

241.  As    you  wish   to   flog    your    dog  as    little   as 
possible,  never  go  out  without  your  whip,  paradoxical 
as  this  may  appear.     The  dog's  salutary  awe  of  the  im- 
plement which  he  sees  in  your  possession,  like  a  horse's 
consciousness  of  your  heel  being  armed  with  a  spur,  will 
tend  to  keep  him  in  order.     If  your  dog  is  a  keen  ranger, 
you  may  much  spare  the  whip  by  making  him  crouch 
at  your  feet  for  several  minutes  after  he  has  committed 
a  fault.     The  detention  will  be  felt  by  him,  when  he  is 
all  anxiety  to  be  off  hunting,  as  a  severe  punishment. 
If  he  is  a  mettlesome,  high-couraged  animal,  he  will  re- 
gard as  a  yet  severer  punishment  his  being  compelled 
to  folloAV  at  your  heels  for  half-an-hour,  while  the  othei 
dogs  are  allowed  the  enjoyment  of  hunting. 

242.  Excess  of  punishment  has  made  many  a  dog  of 
good  promise  a  confirmed  blinker  ;  and  of  far  more  has 
it  quenched   that   keen   ardor   for   the   sport,  without 
which  no  dog  can  be  first-rate.     For  this  reason,  if  not 
from  more  humane  motives,  make  it  a  rule  to  give  but 
ft'\v  cuts ;  let  them,  however,  be  tolerably  severe.     Your 


612  DOG-BREAKING. 

pupil's  recollection  of  them,  when  he  hears  the  crack  ol 
the  whip,  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  their  frequent 
repetition. 

243.  I  knew  of  a  young  fellow's  purchasing  a  pointer 
of  an  excellent  breed  from  a  gamekeeper  for  a  few  shil- 
lings merely,  as  the  animal  had  become  so  timid  from 
over-chastisement,  that  she  not  only  blinked  her  game, 
but  seldom  quitted  the  man's  heels.    The  lad  had  the 
good  sense  to  treat  the  bitch,  at  all  times,  with  the 
greatest  kindness:  and  in  order  to  induce  her  to  hunt,  he 
used  to  break  off  the  feet  of  every  bird  he  killed,  and 
give  them  to  her  to  eat  along  with  the  sinews.     The 
plan  succeeded  so  well  that  she  eventually  became  an 
unusually   keen    and    fast   ranger.     This   would    be    a 
hazardous  step  to  take  with  a  dog  wanted  to  retrieve. 
There  are  few,  if  any  dogs  who  may  not  be  tempted 
by  hunger  to  eat  game.     A  gentleman  told  me,  that, 
to   his   great    astonishment,    he    one    day   saw   an    olo 
tender-mouthed   retriever,   that  he  had   possessed  for 
years,   deliberately    swallow   a    partridge.     Before    he 
could   get  up   to   the   dog   even  the   tail-feathers   had 
disappeared.     On  inquiry  it  turned  out  that,  through 
some  neglect,  the  animal  had  not  been  fed. 

244.  Some  argue  that  blinking  arises  from  a  defective 
nose,  not  from  punishment;  but  surely  it  is  the  injudi- 
cious chastisement  following  the  blunders  caused  by  a 
bad  nose  that  makes  a  dog,  through  fear,  go  to  "  heel " 
when  he   winds  birds.     A   bad   nose   may  lead   to   a 
ilog's  running  up  birds  from  not  noticing  them,  but  it 


SHOOTING    HARES.  613 

cannot  naturally  induce  him  to  run  away  from  them. 
Possibly  he  may  be  worthless  from  a  deficiency  in  his 
olfactory  powers ;  but  it  is  hard  to  conceive  how  these 
powers  can  be  improved  by  a  dread  of  doing  mischief 
when  he  finds  himself  near  game.  Some  dogs  that 
have  been  unduly  chastised  do  not  even  betray  them- 
selves by  running  to  "  heel,"  but  cunningly  slink  away 
from  their  birds  without  giving  you  the  slightest  inti- 
mation of  their  vicinity.  I  have  seen  such  instances. 
When  a  young  dog,  who  has  betrayed  symptoms  of 
blinking,  draws  upon  birds,  head  him,  if  you  can,  before 
you  give  him  the  order  to  "  toho :"  he  will  then  have 
such  a  large  circuit  to  make,  that  he  will  feel  the  less 
tempted  to  run  to  your  heels. 

245.  Obedience  and  intelligence  are,  as  I  have  already 
remarked,  best  secured  by  judicious  ratings  and  encou- 
ragements— scoldings  for  bad  conduct, — praise,  caresses, 
and  rewards  for  good.  Never  forget,  therefore,  to  have 
some  delicacy  in  your  pocket  to  give  the  youngster 
whenever  he  may  deserve  it.  All  dogs,  however,  even 
the  most  fearful,  ought  to  be  made  able  to  bear  a  little 
punishment.  If,  unfortunately,  your  dog  is  constitution- 
ally timid — I  cannot  help  saying  unfortunately,  though 
so  many  of  the  sort  have  fine  noses — the  whip  must  be 
employed  with  the  greatest  gentleness,  the  lash  being 
rather  laid  on  the  back  than  used,  until  such  forbear- 
ance, and  many  caresses  before  his  dismissal,  have  gra- 
dually banished  the  animal's  alarm,  and  ultimately 
enabled  you  to  give  him  a  very  slight  beating,  on  his 


614  DOG-BREAKING. 

misconducting  himself,  without  any  danger  of  making 
him  blink.  By  such  means,  odd  as  it  may  sound,  you 
create  courage,  and  with  it  give  him  self-confidence  and 
range. 

246.  A  judiciously-educated   dog  will  know  as  well 
as  you  do  whether  or  not  he  has  earned  a  chastisement, 
and  many  a  one  is  of  so  noble  a  nature  that  he  will  not 
wish  to  avoid  it  if  he  is  conscious  that  he  deserves  it. 
He  will  become  as  anxious  for  good  sport  as  you  are, 
and  feel  that  he  ought  to  be  punished,  if  from  his  own 
misconduct  he  mars  it.     Indeed,  he  will  not  have  much 
opinion  of  your  sagacity  if  you  do  not  then  give  him  a 
sound  rating,  or  let  him  have  a  taste  of  the  lash,  though 
it  matters  not  how  slight.     Clearly  this  feeling,  which 
it  will  be  right  to  foster,  must  have  arisen  from  his  belief 
that   you   are  always  conscious  of  his  actions — 262-- 
therefore  never  check  him  for  coming  towards  you  on 
his  committing  any  unseen  error.     Moreover,  when  he 
has  been  but  a  little  shot  to,  you  will  find  that  if  you 
abstain  from  firing  at  a  bird  which  through  his  fault  he 
has  improperly  flushed,  although  in  its  flight  it  affords 
you  an  excellent  shot,  you  will  greatly  vex  him ;  and 
this  will  tend  to  make  him  more  careful  for  the  future. 

247.  When,  after   a   few  weeks,    you   perceive   that 
the  youngster  has  confidence  in  himself,  and  is  likely  to 
hunt  independently,  not  deferentially  following  the  foot- 
steps of  an  older  companion,  take  out  a  well-broken  dog 
with  him,  that  you  may  have  the  opportunity  of  teach- 
ing him  to  "back."     Be  careful  to  choose  one  not  given 


SHOOTING    HAKES.  615 

to  make  false  points ;  for  if  he  commits  such  mistakes, 
your  pupil  will  soon  utterly  disregard  his  pointing. 
Select  also  one  who  draws  upon  his  birds  in  a  fine, 
determined  attitude ;  not  one  to  whose  manner  even 
you  must  be  habituated  to  feel  certain  he  is  on  game. 
Be  watchful  to  prevent  your  dog  ever  hunting  in  the 
wake  of  the  other,  which,  in  the  humility  of  canine 
youth,  he  probably  will,  unless  you  are  on  the  alert  to 
wave  him  in  a  different  direction,  the  moment  you 
observe  him  inclined  to  seek  the  company  of  his  moro 
experienced  associate.  By  selecting  a  slow  old  dof* 
you  will  probably  diminish  the  wish  of  the  young  one 
to  follow  him ;  for  it  is  likely  that  the  youngster's 
eagerness  will  make  him  push  on  faster,  and  so  take  the 
lead. 

248.  The  example  for  &few  days — but  only  for  a  few 
days — of  a  good  stanch  dog  who  is  not  a  hedge-hunter, 
— has  no  bad  habits,  and  does  not  require  being  called 
to — will  be  advantageous  to  your  inexperienced  animal. 

249.  On  the  old  dog's  pointing,  catch  the  eye  of  the 
young  one.     If  you  cannot  readily  do  so,  and  are  not 
afraid  of  too  much  alarming  the  birds,  call  to  the  old 
fellow  by  name,  and  desire  him  to  "  toho."     The  order 
will  make  the  young  one  look  round,  and  awaken  him 
to  a  suspicion  of  what  is  going  forward.     Hold  up  your 
right  arm — stand  still  for  a  minute — and  then,  carrying 
your  gun  as  if  you  were  prepared  momentarily  to  fire, 
retreat,  or  move  sideways  in  crab-like  fashion  towards 
the    old   dog,  continuing   your   signal  to  the  other   to 


616  DOG-BREAKING. 

remain  steady,  and  turning  your  face  to  him,  so  that  he 
may  be  restrained  by  the  feeling  that  your  eye  is 
constantly  fixed  upon  him.  He  will  soon  remark  the 
attitude  of  the  old  dog,  and  almost  intuitively  guess  its 
meaning.  Should  the  old  one  draw  upon  his  game,  still 
the  other  dog  must  remain  stationary.  If  he  advance 
but  an  inch,  rate  him.  Should  he  rush  up — which  is 
hardly  to  be  expected — at  him  at  once  ; — having  made 
him  drop,  catch  hold  of  him,  and  drag  him  to  the  place 
at  which  he  should  have  backed— there — if  you  judge 
such  strong  measures  necessary — peg  him  down  until 
after  you  have  had  your  shot  and  are  reloaded.  If  by 
heading  the  birds  you  can  drive  them  towards  the 
young  dog,  do  so ;  and  aim  at  the  one  most  likely  to 
fall  near  him.  Endeavor  to  make  him  comprehend 
that  any  sign  or  word  to  urge  on  or  retard  the  leading 
dog  in  no  way  applies  to  him.  This  he  will  soon 
understand,  if  he  has  been  properly  instructed  with 
an  associate  in  the  initiatory  lesson  described  in  45 
After  you  have  picked  up  the  bird  let  him  sniff  at  it. 

250.  It  is  most  important  that  the  dog  which  first 
winds  birds  should  be  allowed  to  "road"  them  to  a 
spring  without  being  flurried,  or  in  any  way  interfered 
with  by  another  dog.  Few  things  are  more  trying 
to  your  temper  as  a  sportsman,  than  to  see  a  self-sufficient 
cub,  especially  when  birds  are  wild,  creep  up  to  the  old 
dog  whom  he  observes  pointing  at  a  distance,  or  cautious- 
ly drawing  upon  a  covey.  The  young  whipper-snapper 
pays  no  attention  to  your  most  energetic  signals:  you 


SHOOTING    HARES.  617 

are  afraid  to  speak  lest  you  should  alarm  the  birds,  and 
before  you  can  catch  hold  of  the  presumptuous  jackanapes, 
he  not  only  steals  close  to  the  good  old  dog,  but  actually 
ventures  to  head  him;  nay,  possibly  dares  to  crawl 
on  yet  nearer  to  the  birds  in  the  hope  of  enjoying  a 
more  intoxicating  sniff. 

251.  All  dogs  but  the  "finder"  should  stand  wholly 
by   sight, — just  the  reverse  of  pointing.     Your   dog's 
nose  ought  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  backing.     If  you 
permit  it,  he  will  get  the  abominable  habit  of  creeping  up 
to  his  companions  in  the  manner  just  described — 250 — 
when  he  observes  them  to  be  winding  birds ;  and  though 
he  may  not  presume  to  take  the  lead,  nay,  even  keep 
at  so  respectful  a  distance  as  in  no  way  to  annoy  the 
"finder,"  yet  a  longing  to  inhale  the  "grateful  steam" 
— as  that  good  poet  and  capital  sportsman,  Somerville, 
terms  it — will  make  him  constantly  watch  the  other  dogs, 
instead  of  bestowing  his  undivided  attention  and  faculties 
upon  finding  game  for  himself.     It  is  quite  enough  if  he 
backs  whenever  you  order  him,  or  he  accidentally  catches 
sight  of  another  dog  either  "  pointing"  or  "reading*,"  and 
the  less  he  is  looking  after  his  companions,  the  more 
zealously  will  he  attend  to  his  own  duties. 

252.  If  you  have  any  fears  that  the  old  dog  when  he  is 
on  birds  will  not  act  steadily,  should  you  have  occasion 
to  chide  the  young  one,  be  careful  to  give  the  old  dog  a 
word  expressive  of  your  approval,  before  you  commence 
to  rate  the  other. 

253.  When    your   youngster  is  hereafter   hunted  in 


618  DOG-BREAKING. 

company,  should  he  make  a  point,  and  any  intrusive 
companion,  instead  of  properly  backing  him,  be  im- 
pertinently pressing  on,  the  youngster  should  not  be 
induced — however  great  may  be  the  trial  upon  his 
patience  and  forbearance-  -to  draw  one  foot  nearer  to  the 
game  than  his  own  knowledge  of  distance  tells  him  is 
correct ;  not  even  if  his  friend,  or  rather,  jealous  rival, 
boldly  assumes  the  front  rank.  Your  pupil  will  have 
a  right  to  look  to  you  for  protection,  and  to  expect 
that  the  rash  intruder,  however  young,  be  at  the  least 
well  rated. 

254.  It  is   a   matter   of  little   moment  whether   the 
"backer"  attends  to  the  "down  charge,"  or  continues 
to  back  as  long  as  the  other  dog  remains  at  his  point. 
It  appears,  however,  best  that  he  should  "  drop,"  unless  he 
is  so  near  that  he  winds  the  game,  when  he  would  be  rather 
pointing  than  backing—  and  should,  consequently,  behave 
as  explained  in  187 ; — for  the  fewer  exceptions  there  are 
to  general  rules  the  more  readily  are  the  rules  observed. 

255.  Should  both  dogs  make  separate  points  at  the 
same  moment,  it  is  cleai  that  neither  can  back  the  other. 
They  must  act  independently — each  for  himself.     More- 
over, your  firing  over  one  should  not  induce  the  other  to 
"  down  charge,"  or  in  any  way  divert  his  attention  from 
his  own  birds.     He  ought  to  remain  as  immovable  as  a 
statue.     Some  dogs,  whose  high  courage  has  not  been 
damped  by  over-correction,  will  do  this  from  their  own 
sagacity;   but  to  enable  you  to  teach  then?  to  behave 
thus  steadily,  game  <hould  be  plentiful     When  you  are 


HINTS    TO    PURCHASERS.  619 

lucky  enough  to  observe  both  dogs  pointing  at  the  same 
time,  let  your  fellow-sportsman — or  your  attendant — 
flush  and  fire  at  the  birds  found  by  the  older  dog,  while 
you  remain  stationary  near  the  young  one,  quietly 
but  earnestly  cautioning  him  to  continue  firm.  When 
your  companion  has  reloaded  and  picked  up  his  game 
— and  made  the  other  dog  "  back," — let  him  join  you 
and  knock  over  the  bird  at  which  your  pupil  is  pointing. 
It  will  not  be  long  before  he — your  young  dog — under- 
stands what  is  required  of  him,  if  he  has  been  practised 
—as  recommended  in  187 — not  to  "  down  charge  "  when 
pointing  unsprung  birds.  In  short,  it  may  be  received 
as  an  axiom,  that  nothing  ought  to  make  a  dog  voluntarily 
relinquish  a  point  so  long  as  he  winds  birds;  and 
nothing  but  the  wish  to  continue  his  point  should  make 
him  neglect  the  "  down  charge  "  the  instant  he  hears  the 
near  report  of  a  gun. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HINTS  TO  PURCHASERS.      SHEEP  KILLING. 

256.  WHEN  your  dog  has  been  properly  taught  the 
"  back,"  fail  not  to  recommence  hunting  him  alone,  if  it 
is  your  object  to  establish  a  perfect  range. 


620  DOG-BREAKING. 

\ 

257.  Professional    dog-breakers,    I    have    remarked, 
almost  invariably  hunt  too  many  dogs  together.     This 
arises,  I  suppose,  from  the  number  which  they  have 
to  train ;  but  the  consequence  is,  that  the  younger  dogs 
are  spectators  rather  than  actors,  and,  instead  of  ranging 
independently  in   search   of  game,   are   watching   the 
manoeuvres  of  their  older  associates. 

258.  A   glimmering   of  knowledge  may  be    picked 
up  in  this  way ;  but  no  one  will  argue  that  it  is  likely  to 
create  great  excellence.     Doubtless  the  young  ones  wilt 
be  good  backers ;  and  to  the  inexperienced  a  troop  of 
perhaps  a  dozen  dogs,  all  in  chiselled  form,  stanchly 
backing  an  old  leader,  is  a  most  imposing  sight — but 
if  the  observer  were  to  accompany  the  whole  party  for  a 
few  hours,  he  would  remark,  I  will  bet  any  money,  that 
the  same  veterans  would  over  and  over  again  find  the 
birds,  and  that  the  '•''perfectly  "  broken  young  ones  in  the 
rear  would  do  nothing  but  "  back  "  and  "  down  charge." 
What   can  they  know   of  judicious   quartering?     Of 
obeying  the  signals  of  the  hand  ?     Of  gradually  drawing 
upon  the  faintest  token  of  a  scent — only  perceptible  to  a 
nose  carried  high  in   the  air — until  they  arrive   at   a 
confident  point  ?     Of  perseveringly  working  out  the  foil 
of  a  slightly-winged  bird,  on  a  hot  still  day,  to  a  sure 
"find?  "     Nothing,  or  next  to  nothing,— nearly  all  is  to 
be  taught ;  and  yet  the  breaker  will  show  off  those  raw 
recruits  as  perfectly  drilled  soldiers.     Would  they  not 
have  had  a  much  better  chance  of  really  being  so,  if  he 
had  given  a  small  portion  of  his  time  each  day  to  each  ? 


HINTS   TO    PURCHASERS  621 

He  well  knows  they  would;  but  the  theatrical  display 
would  not  be  half  so  magnificent.  If  he  had  truly 
wished  to  give  his  pupils  a  good  systematic  range, 
without  a  doubt  he  would  have  devoted  one  hour  in  the 
field  exclusively  to  each  dog,  rather  than  many  hours  to 
several  at  once — and  not  have  associated  any  together  in 
the  field  until  he  had  gained  full  command  over  each 
separately.  And  this  he  would  have  done — because  it 
would  have  tended  to  his  interest, — had  he  supposed  that 
his  dog's  qualifications  would  be  investigated  by  judges 
— by  those  who  would  insist  on  seeing  a  dog  hunted 
singly — in  order  to  observe  his  method  of  ranging, — or 
with  but  one  companion,  before  they  thought  of  defi- 
nitively purchasing. 

259.  At  the  beginning  of  a  partridge  season,  I  unex- 
pectedly wanted  to  purchase  a  dog.     An  old  gamekeeper  • 
— one  on  whose  judgment  I  could  rely,  and  who,  I  knew, 
would  not  willingly  deceive  me, — saw  a  setter  in  the 
field  that  he  thought  would  please,  and  accordingly  sent 
it  to  my  kennel.     I  greatly  liked  the  looks  of  the  animal. 
He   quartered  his   ground  well — was  obedient  to  the 
hand — carried   a  high   and   apparently  tender  nose — 
pointed,  backed,  and  down-charged  steadily.     Unques- '' 
tionably  he  had  been  well  broken.     I  thought  myself  in  - 
great  luck,  and  should  not  have  hesitated  to  complete 
the  purchase,  but  that  fortunately  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  shooting  a  bird  over  him,  when  to  my  horror  he 
rushed  at  it  with  the  speed  of  a  greyhound.    As,  in  spite  ; 
of  all  my  remonstrances,  shouted  in  the  most  determined 


622  DOG-BREAKING. 

manner,  he  repeated  this  manoeuvre  whenever  a  bird  fell, 
J  returned  him.  I  afterwards  heard  he  had  just  been 
shot  over  by  a  party  on  the  moors,  who,  no  doubt, 
had  spoilt  him  by  their  ignoble,  pot-hunting  propen- 
sities. 

260.  Had  I  chosen  to  sacrifice  my  shooting  in  order  to 
reclaim  him — which  I  must  have  done,  had  I  too  hastily 
concluded  the  purchase, — I  ought  to  have  sent  home  the 
other  dogs,  and  proceeded,  but  with  greater  severity, 
much  in  the  manner  described  in  220  and  222.  I  ought 
not, however,  to  have  gone  after  him  when  first  he  bolted; 
I  ought  merely  to  have  endeavored  to  check  him  with 
my  voice,  for  it  would  have  been  most  important  to  set 
him  a  good  example  by  remaining  immovable  myself, 
and  he  might  have  misconstrued  any  hasty  advance 
on  my  part  into  rivalship  for  possession  of  the  bird ;  in 
short,  into  a  repetition  of  one  of  the  many  scrambles  to 
which  he  had  recently  been  accustomed,  and  in  which  I 
feel  sure  he  must  invariably  have  come  off  victorious. 
I  ought,  when  loaded,  to  have  walked  calmly  up  to  him, 
and,  without  taking  the  slightest  notice  of  the  disfigured 
bird,  have  dragged  him  back,  while  loudly  rating  him,  to 
the  spot  where  he  should  have  "  down  charged."  After 
a  good  flagellation — a  protracted  lecture — and  a  long 
delay, — the  longer  the  better, — I  ought  to  have  made 
him  cautiously  approach  the  bird ;  and  by  a  little  scolding, 
and  by  showing  him  the  wounds  he  had  inflicted,  have 
striven  to  make  him  sensible  and  ashamed  of  his  enormi- 
ties. Probably,  too,  had  the  birds  lain  well,  the  moment 


HINTS    TO    PURCHASERS.  ()23 

he  pointed  I  should  have  employed  the  checkcord* 
with  a  spike,  giving  him  a  liberal  allowance  of  slack  line 
— 234.  Had  I  thus  treated  him  throughout  the  day, 
I  have  little  doubt  but  that  he  would  have  become  a 
reformed  character;  though  an  occasional  outbreak 
might  not  unreasonably  have  been  expected.  See  205  to 
208. 

261.  To  create  a  feeling  of  self-dependence,  obviously 
there  is  no  better  plan  than  for  a  considerable  time  to  take 
out  the  dog  by  himself,  and  thus  force  him  to  trust  for 
sport  to  his  own  unaided  powers;  and  when  he  is  at  length 
hunted  in  company,  never  to  omit  paying  him  the  com- 
pliment  of  attending  to   every   indication   he   evinces 
of  being  upon   birds,   even    occasionally  to  the  unfair 
neglect  of  confirmed  points  made  by  the  other  dogs. 

262.  I  conceive  those  dogs  must  be  considered  the 
best  which  procure  a  persevering  sportsman  most  >hots 
in  a  season  and  lose  him  fewest  winged  birds.f     If  you 
are  anxious  for  your  pupil  to  attain  this  superlative  ex- 
cellence,— I  will  repeat  it,  at  the  risk  of  being  accused 

*  I  am  glad  to  say  I  have  never  had  occasion  to  adopt  so  severe  a 
remedy  as  the  fo'lowing;  but  I  have  heard  of  an  otherwise  incorri- 
gible taste  for  bloo  1  being  cured  by  a  partridge  pierced  transversely 
with  two  knitting-pins  being  adroitly  substituted  for  the  fallen  bird 
which  the  dog  had  been  restrained  by  a  checkcord  from  bolting. 
The  pins  were  cut  to  a  length  somewhat  less  than  the  diameter 
of  its  body,  and  were  fixed  at  right  angles  to  one  another.  Several 
slight  wires  would,  I  think,  have  answered  better. 

f  And  if  hares  are  shot  to  him,  fewest  wounded  haree. 


0'24  DOG-BREAKING. 

of  tautology, — you  must  be  at  all  times  consistently 
strict  but  never  severe.  Make  him  as  much  as  you  can, 
your  constant  companion ;  you  will  thereby  much  de- 
velope  his  intelligence,  and  so  render  him  a  more  efficient 
assistant  in  the  field,  for  he  will  understand  your  man- 
ner better  and  better,  and  greatly  increase  in  affection 
as  well  as  observation.  Many  men  would  like  so  faith- 
ful an  attendant.  Teach  obedience  at  home — to  obtain 
it  in  the  field.  Consider  the  instantaneous  "  drop,"  the 
moment  he  gets  the  signal,  as  all-important, — as  the 
very  key-stone  of  the  arch  that  conducts  to  the  glorious 
triumphs  of  due  subordination.  Notice  every  fault,  and 
check  it  by  rating,  but  never  punish  with  the  whip 
unless  you  judge  it  absolutely  necessary.  On  the  other 
hand,  following  Astley's  plan — 10 — reward,  or  at  least 
praise,  every  instance  of  good  behavior,  and  you  will 
be  surprised  how  quickly  your  young  dog  will  compre- 
hend your  wishes,  and  how  anxious  he  will  be  to  com- 
ply with  them.  Remember  that  evil  practices,  un- 
checked until  they  become  confirmed  habits,  or  any 
errors  in  training  committed  at  the  commencement  of 
his  education,  cannot  be  repaired  afterwards  without 
tenfold — nay,  twentyfold — trouble.  Never  let  him 
hunt  from  under  your  eye.  Unceasingly  endeavor  to 
keep  alive  in  him  as  long  as  possible  his  belief  that  you 
are  intuitively  aware  as  fully  when  he  is  out  of  sight  as 
within  sight  of  every  fault  he  commits,  whether  it  arise 
from  wilfulness  or  mere  heedlessness.  This  is  a  very 
important  admonition.  Remember,  however,  that  the 


HINTS   TO    PURCHASERS.  02. 5 

best  dogs  will  occasionally  make  mistakes  when  they 
are  running  down  wind — especially  if  it  blows  hard, — 
and  that  there  are  days  when  there  is  scarcely  any  scent. 
— Note  to  128. 

263.  Attend  most  carefully  to  the  injunction  not  to 
let  your  dog  hunt  out  of  sight.     It   is   essential  that 
you  do  so. 

264.  Notwithstanding  Beckford's  capital  story  of  the 
hounds  making  a  dinner  of  the  old  ram  which  his  lord- 
ship had  left  in  their  kennel  to  intimidate  them,  if  your 
dog  be  unhappily  too  fond  of  mutton  or  lamb  of  his  own 
killing,  perhaps  no  better  cure  can  be  attempted,  provided 
you  superintend   the   operation,  than  that  of  muzzling 
him,  and  letting  a  strong  ram  give  him  a  butting  at  the 
time  that  you  are  administering  the  lash,  and  hallooing 
out  "  Ware  "  or  "  Sheep."     But,  unfortunately,  this  too 
often  fails. 

265.  If  you  do  not  succeed,  you  must  hang  or  drown 
him, — the  latter  is  probably  the  less  painful  death,  but  a 
charge  of  shot  well  lodged  behind  the  ear  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  brain  would  be  yet  better.    Therefore  you  will 
not  mind  giving  him  another  chance  for  his  life,  though 
confessedly  the  measure    proposed   is  most  barbarous. 
Procure  an  ash-pole  about  five  feet  long.     Tie  one  extre- 
mity of  the  pole  to  a  strong  ram,  by  the  part  of  the  horns 
near  the  forehead.     To  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  pole 
attach  a  strong  spiked  collar,  and  strap  it  round  the  dog's 
throat,  to  the  audible  tune  of  "Ware"    or  "Sheep." 
To    prevent    the    possibility    of    the     cord     slipping, 

27 


626  DOG-BREAKING. 

through  each  end  of  the  pole  burn  d  hole.  The  con 
tinued  efforts  of  the  ram  for  some  hours  either  to  free 
himself  from  his  strange  companion,  or  to  attack  him, 
will  possibly  so  worry  and  punish  the  dog  as  to  give 
him  a  distaste  ever  afterwards  for  anything  of  a  woolly 
nature.  The  pole  will  so  effectually  separate  these 
unwilling — but  still  too  intimate— associates,  that  you 
need  not  muzzle  the  dog. 

266.  There  is  yet  another  remedy,  which  I  will  name, 
as  it  sounds  reasonable,  though  I  cannot  speak  of  its 
merits  from  personal  observation,  never  having  seen  it 
tried. 

267.  Wrap   a   narrow   strip   of  sheep-skin,  that   has 
much  wool  on  it,  round  the  dog's  lower  jaw,  the  wool 
outwards,  and  fasten  it  so  that  he  cannot  get  rid  of  it. 
Put  this  on  him  for  a  few  hours  daily  and  there  is  a 
chance  that  he  will  become   as   thoroughly  disgusted 
as  even  you  could  wish,  with  every  anima]  of  the  race 
whose     coat    furnished    such    odious    mouthfuls  ;    but 
prevention  being  better  than  cure,  pay  great  attention 
to  your  dog's  morals  during  the  lambing  season.     Dogs 
not  led  away  by  evil  companionship  rarely  commence 
their   depredations  upon  sober   full-grown    sheep.      In 
ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,*  they  have  previously 
yielded  to  the  great  temptation  of  running  down  some 


*  In  the  remaining  odd  case — one  out  of  a  hundred — the  propen 
eity  may  be  traced  to  the  animal's  belonging  to  a  vicious  stock- 
in  short,  to  hereditary  instinct. 


HINTS   TO    PURCHASERS.  627 

frisking  Iamb,  whose  animated  gambols  seemed  to  court 
pursuit. 

268.  If  ever  you  have  fears   that   you  may  be   un- 
able to  prevent  a  dog's  breaking  away  to  worry  sheep, 
hunt  him  in  a  muzzle  of  a  size  that  will  not  interfere 
with  his  breathing,  and  yet  effectually  prevent  the  wide 
extension  of  his  jaws. 

269.  The  killing  of  fowls  is  more   easily  prevented. 
The    temptation,   though    equally  frequent,   is   not   so 
great — he  will  only  have  tasted  blood,  not  revelled  in 
it.     Take   a  dead   fowl — one  of  his   recent  victims,  if 
you   can  procure  it — and  endeavor,  by  pointing  to  it, 
while  you  are  scolding  him,  to  make  him  aware  of  the 
cause  of  your  displeasure.     Then  secure  him  to  a  post, 
and   thrash   him   about  the  head  with  the  bird,  occa- 
sionally favoring  his  hide  with  sundry  applications  oi' 
a  whip,  and  his  ears  with  frequent   repetitions  of  the 
scaring  admonition.  "  Ware  fowl,"  "  Fowl — fowl — fowl." 
Whenever   you  afterwards   catch  him  watching  poul- 
try, be  sure  to  rate  him. 


628  DOG-BREAKING. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HISTLES.       "  BACKINC 
TREAT  FROM  AND  RESUMPTION  OF  POINT.      RANGE  UNAC- 
COMPANIED BY  GUN.       HEADING  RUNNING  BIRDS. 

A   DISTINGUISHING   WHISTLE   FOR   EACH    DOG. 

271.  THOUGH   you   may  have   only  begun   to   shoot 
last  season,  have  you   not  often  wished  to  attract  the 
attention   of  one   of  your  two   dogs,  and   make   him 
hunt  in  a  particular  part  of  the  field,  but  for  fear  of 
alarming   the   birds^  have   been    unwilling   to   call  out 
his  name,  and  have   felt  loath  to  whistle  to  him,  lest 
you   should  bring   away  at  the   same  time  the   other 
dog,   who   was   zealously   hunting   exactly  where   you 
considered  him  most  likely  to  find  birds  ? 

272.  Again:    have    the    dogs    never    been    hunting 
close  together  instead  of  pursuing  distinct  beats;  and 
has    it    not    constantly   happened,    on    your   whistling 
with  the  view  to  separate  them,  that  both  have  turned 
their    heads  in  obedience  to  the  whistle,  and  both  on 
your  signal   changed   the    direction  of  their  beat,  but 
still  the  two  together?    And  have  you  not,  in  despai~ 
of  ever   parting   them   by   merely    whistling   and   sig- 
nalling, given  the  lucky  birds — apparently  in  the  most 
liandsome  manner,  as  if  scorning  to  take  any  ungenerous 


DISTINGUISHING    WHISTLES.  629 

advantage — fair  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  guns  by 
shouting  out  the  name  of  one  of  the  dogs. 

273.  Or,    if  one   dog  was   attentive   to   the  whistle, 
did   he   not   gradually  learn  to   disregard  it  from  ob- 
serving   that    his    companion   was   never   chidden   for 
neglecting    to    obey   it  ? — and    did    not    such     laxity 
more    and    more    confirm   both    in   habits   of  disobe- 
dience ? 

274.  I  believe  several   of  my  readers  will  be   con- 
strained to  answer  these  questions  in  the  affirmative; 
and,  further,  I  think  their  own  experience  will  remind 
them  of  many  occasions,   both    on   moor   and   stubble 
when  birds  were  wild,  on  which  they  have  wished  to 
attract  the  notice  of  a  particular  dog — perhaps  running 
along  a  hedge,  or  pottering  over  a  recent  haunt;   or 
hunting   down  wind   towards  marked  game — by  whis- 
tling instead  of  calling  out  his  name,  but  have  been 
unwilling  to  do  so,  lest  the  other  dogs  should  likewise 
obey  the  shrill   sound   to   which   all  were   equally  ac- 
customed. 

275.  Now,  in  breaking  young   dogs,  yon   could,  by 
using    whistles    of   dissimilar    calls,    easily   avoid    the 
liability  of  these   evils ;   and  by  invariably  employing 
a   particular   whistle   for   each    dog    to    summon    him 
separately  to  his  food — 29 — each  would  distinguish  his 
own  whistle   as   surely  as   every  dog  knows  his   own 
master's   whistle,    and   as   hounds   learn    their    names. 
Dogs  not   only  know  their   own   names,  but  instantly 
know   by  the  pronunciation   when    it    is    uttered    by 


630  DOG-BREAKING. 

a  stranger.  To  prevent  mistakes,  each  dog's  name 
might  be  marked  on  his  own  whistle.  You  might 
have  two  whistles,  of  very  different  sound,  on  one 
short  stock.  Indeed,  one  whistle  would  be  sufficient 
for  two  dogs,  if  you  invariably  sounded  the  same  two 
or  three  sharp  short  notes  for  one  dog,  and  as  in- 
variably gave  a  sustained  note  for  the  other.  Nay, 
the  calls  could  thus  be  so  diversified,  that  one  whistle 
might  be  used  for  even  more  than  two  dogs. 

But  whatever  whistle  you  choose  to  employ,  be 
sure,  both  in  and  out  of  the  field,  to  sound  it  softly 
whenever  the  dog  is  near  you.  Indeed,  you  would 
act  judiciously  to  make  it  a  constant  rule,  wherever 
he  may  be,  never  to  whistle  louder  than  is  really  re- 
quisite-) otherwise — as  I  think  I  before  remarked — he 
will,  comparatively  speaking,  pay  little  attention  to 
its  summons,  when,  being  at  a  distance,  he  hears  it 
but  faintly. 

TO    BACK   THE   GUN. 

276.  In  shooting,  especially  late  in  the  season,  you 
will  often  mark  down  a  bird,  and  feel  assured  that 
you  stand  a  better  chance  of  getting  a  shot  at  it  if 
the  dogs  cease  hunting  whilst  you  approach  it.  You 
can  teach  your  dog  to  do  this  by  holding  up  your 
right  hand  behind  you  when  you  mark  down  a  bird, 
saying  at  the  same  time,  "  Toho,"  in  an  earnest,  quiet 
voice,  and  carrying  your  gun  as  if  you  were  prepared 
to  shoot.  He  will  soon  begin,  I  really  must  say  it 


DISTINGUISHING    WHISTLES.  631 

to  back  you, — for  he  actually  will  be  backing  you, 
ludicrous  as  the  expression  may  sound.  After  a  few 
times  he  will  do  so  on  the  signal,  without  your 
speaking  at  all ;  and  he  will  be  as  pleased,  as  excited, 
and  as  stanch,  as  if  he  were  backing  an  old  dog. 
Making  him  "  drop "  will  not  effect  your  object ,  for, 
besides  that  it  in  no  way  increases  his  intelligence, 
you  may  wish  him  to  follow  at  a  respectful  distance, 
while  you  are  stealing  along  the  banks  of  some 
stream,  &c.  Ere  long  he  will  become  as  sensible  as 
yourself  that  any  noise  would  alarm  the  birds,  and 
you  will  soon  see  him  picking  his  steps  to  avoid  the 
crisp  leaves,  lest  their  rustling  should  betray  him.  I 
have  even  heard  of  a  dog  whose  admirable  caution  occa- 
sionally led  him,  when  satisfied  that  his  point  was  ob- 
served, to  crawl  behind  a  bush,  or  some  other  shelter, 
to  screen  himself  from  the  notice  of  the  birds. 

277.  The  acquisition  of  this  accomplishment —and  it 
is  easily  taught  to  a  young  dog  previously  made  steady 
in  backing  another — it  should  not  be  attempted  before 
— will  often  secure  you  a  duck,  or  other  wary  bird,  which 
the  dog  would  otherwise,  almost  to  a  certainty,  spring 
out  of  gun-shot.     If  you  should  "  toho  "  a  hare,  and 
wish  to  kill  one,  you  will  have  an  excellent  opportunity 
of  practising  this  lesson. 

278.  In  America  there  is  a  singular  duck,  called,  from 
its  often  alighting  on  trees,  the  Wood-duck.      I  have 
killed  some  of  these  beautiful,  fast-flying  birds,  while 
they  were  seated  on  logs  overhanging  the  water,  which 


032  DOG-BREAKING. 

I  could  not  have  approached  within  gun-shot  had  the 
dog  not  properly  backed  the  gun  when  signalled  to, 
and  cautiously  crept  after  me,  still  remaining  far  in  the 
rear. 

TO  RETREAT  PROM  A  POINT  AND  RESUME  IT. 

279.  Amidst  coppices,  osiers,  or  broom — indeed,  some 
times  on  a  rough  moor — you  will  occasionally  lose  sight 
of  a  dog,  and  yet  be  unwilling  to  call  him,  feeling  assured 
that  he  is  somewhere  steadily  pointing ;  and  being  vexa- 
tiously  certain  that,  when  he  hears  your  whistle,  he  will 
either  leave  his  point,  not  subsequently  to  resume  it,  or 
—which  is  far  more  probable — amuse  himself  by  raising 
the  game  before  he  joins  you.     There  are  moments  when 
you  would  give  guineas  if  he  would  retreat  from  his  point, 
come  to  you  on  your  whistling,  lead  you  towards  the 
bird,  and  there  resume  his  point. 

280.  This  accomplishment — and  in  many  places  abroad 
its  value  is  almost  inappreciable — can  be  taught  him, 
if  he  is  under  great  command,  by  your  occasionally 
bringing  him  in  to  your  heel  from  a  point  when  he 
is  within  sight  and  near  you,  and  again  putting  him 
on  his  point.     You  will  begin  your  instruction  in  this 
accomplishment  when  the  dog  is  pointing  quite  close 
to  you.      On  subsequent  occasions,  you  can  gradually 
increase  the  distance,  until  you  arrive  at  such  perfection 
that  you  can  let  him  be  out  of  sight  when  you  call  him. 
When  he  is  first  allowed  to  be  out  of  your  sight,  he 
ought  not  to  be  far  from  you. 


DISTINGUISHING    WHISTLES.  633 

281.  You  may,  for  a  moment,  think  that  what  is  here 
recommended  contradicts  the  axiom  laid  down  in  255 ; 
hut  it  is  there  said,  that  nothing  ought  to  make  a  dog 
u  voluntarily  "  leave  his  point.     Indeed,  the  possession 
of  this  accomplishment,  so  far  from  being  productive  of 
any  harm,   greatly  awakens  a  dog's  intelligence,   and 
makes  him  perceive,  more  clearly  than  ever,  that  the 
bole  object  for  which  he  is  taken  to  the  field  is  to  obtain 
shots  for  the  gun  that  accompanies  him.     When  he  is 
pointing  on  your  side  of  a  thick  hedge,  it  will  make  him 
understand  why  you  call  him  off; — take  him  down  wind, 
and  direct  him  to  jump  the  fence :  he  will  at  once  go  to 
the  bird,  and,  on  your  encouraging  him,  force  it  to  rise 
on  your  side. 

282.  You  will  practise  this  lesson,  however,  with  great 
caution,  and  not  before  his  education  is  nearly  completed, 
lest  he  imagine  that  you  do  not  wish  him  always  to 
remain  stanch  to  his  point.     Indeed,  if  you  are  precipitate, 
or  injudicious,  you  may  make  him  blink  his  game. 

283.  After  a  little  experience,  he  will  very  likely  some 
day  satisfactorily  prove  his  consciousness  of  your  object, 
by  voluntarily  coming  out  of  thick  cover  to  show  you 
where  he  is,  and  again  going  in  and  resuming  his  point. 

TO    HUNT    REGULARLY    FROM     LEEWARD    TO    WINDWARD 
WITHOUT  THE   GUN. 

284.  In  paragraph  147  I  observed,  that  when  you  are 
obliged,  as  occasionally  must  be  the  case,  to  enter  a 
field  to  windward   with   your  pupil,  you  ought  to  .erp 


634  DOG-BREAKING. 

down  to  tlie  leeward  side  of  it,  keeping  him  close  to  your 
Iieels,  before  you  commence  to  hunt.  After  undeviating- 
ly  pursuing  this  plan  for  some  time,  you  can,  before  you 
come  quite  to  the  bottom  of  the  field,  send  him  ahead — 
by  the  underhand  bowler's  swing  of  the  right-hand,  iv. 
of  119, — and,  when  he  has  reached  the  bottom,  signal  to 
Mm  to  hunt  to  the  right — or  left.  He  will  be  so  ha- 
bituated to  work  under  your  eye — 130 — that  you  will 
lind  it  necessary  to  walk  backwards — up  the  middle 
of  the  field, — while  instructing  him.  As  he  becomes, 
by  degrees,  confirmed  in  this  lesson,  you  can  sooner  and 
sooner  send  him  ahead — from  your  heel — but  increase 
the  distances  very  gradually, — until  at  length  he  will  be 
so  far  perfected,  that  you  may  venture  to  send  him  down 
wind  to  the  extremity  of  the  field — before  he  commences 
beating, — while  you  remain  quietly  at  the  top  awaiting 
his  return,  until  he  shall  have  hunted  the  whole  ground, 
MS  systematically  and  carefully  as  if  you  had  accompanied 
him  from  the  bottom.  By  this  method  you  will  teach 
him,  on  his  gaining  more  experience,  invariably  to  run  to 
leeward,  and  hunt  up  to  windward — crossing  and  re- 
crossing  the  wind — whatever  part  of  a  field  you  and  he 
may  enter.  What  a  glorious  consummation  !  and  it  can 
be  attained,  but  only  by  great  patience  and  perseverance. 
The  least  reflection,  however,  will  show  you  that  you 
should  not  attempt  it  until  the  dog  is  perfected  in  hi? 
range. 

285.  A  careful  dog,  thus  practised,  will  seldom  spring 
birds,  however  directly  he  may  be  running  down  wind. 


DISTINGUISHING    WHISTLES.  635 

He  will  pull  up  at  the  faintest  indication  of  a  scent, 
being  at  all  times  anxiously  on  the  look-out  for  the 
coveted  aroraa. 

286.  Not  only  to  the  idle  or  tired  sportsman  would  it 
be  a  great  benefit  to  have  a  field  thus  beaten,  but  the 
keenest  and  most  indefatigable  shot  would  experience  its 
advantages  in  the  cold  and  windy  weather  customary  in 
November,  when   the   tameness   of  •  partridge-shooting 
cannot  be  much    complained  of;   for  the  birds   being 
then  ever  ready  to  take  wing,  surely  the  best  chance,  by 
fair  means,  of  getting  near  them  would  be  to  intercept 
them  between  the  dog  and  yourself. 

287.  Here  the  consideration  naturally  arises,  whether 
dogs  could  not  be  taught — when  hunting  in  the  ordinary 
manner  with  the  gun  in  the  rear — 

TO    HEAD   RUNNING   BIEDS. 

Certainly  it  could  be  done.  There  have  been  many 
instances  of  old  dogs  spontaneously  galloping  off,  and 
placing  themselves  on  the  other  side  of  the  covey — 
which  they  had  pointed — as  soon  as  they  perceived  that 
it  was  on  the  run, — and  by  good  instruction  you  could 
develope  or  rather  excite,  that  exercise  of  sagacity. 

288.  If  dogs  are  taught  to  "hunt  from  leeward  to 
windward  without  the  gun,"  they  become  habituated 
to   seeing   game   intercepted    between  themselves  and 
their   masters, — and   then  their  spontaneously  heading 
running  birds — though  undeniably  evincing  great  intelli- 
gence— would   not  be  very  remarkable.      They  would 


636  DOG-BREAKING. 

but  reverse  matters  by  placing  themselves  to  windward 
of  the  birds  while  the  gun  was  to  leeward.  This  shows 
that  the  acquisition  of  that  accomplishment  would  be  a 
great  step  towards  securing  a  knowledge  of  the  one  we 
are  now  considering.  Indeed  there  seems  to  be  a 
mutual  relation  between  these  two  refinements  in  educa- 
tion, for  the  possession  of  either  would  greatly  conduce 
to  the  attainment  of  the  other. 

289.  This  accomplishment — and   hardly  any  can   be 
considered  more  useful — is  not  so  difficult  to  teach  an 
intelligent  dog  as  one  might  at  first  imagine  ;  it  is  but 
to  lift  him,  and  make  him  act  on  a  larger  scale,  much  in 
the  manner  described  in  212  and  296.     Like,  however, 
everything  else  in  canine  education — indeed,  in  all  edu- 
cation— it  must  be  effected  gradually  ;  nor  should  it  be 
commenced  before  the  dog  has  had  a  season's  steadying, 
then  practise  him  in  heading  every  wounded  bird,  and  en- 
deavor to  make  him  do  so  at  increased  distances.    When- 
ever, also,  he  comes  upon  the  "heel"  of  a  covey  which  is 
to  leeward  of  him — instead  of  letting  him  "  foot  "  it — 
oblige  him  to  quit  the  scent  and  take  a  circuit — sinking 
the  wind — so  as  to  place  himself  to  leeward  of  birds. 
He  will  thereby  head  the  covey,  and  you  will  have  every 
reason  to  hope  that  after  a  time  his  own  observation  and 
intellect  will  show  him  the  advantage  of  thus  intercept- 
ing birds  and  stopping  them  when  they  are  on  the  run, 
whether  the  manoeuvre  places  him  to  leeward  or  to 
windward  of  them. 

290.  If  you   could  succeed  in  teaching  but  one  of 


DISTINGUISHING    WHISTLES.  6^7 

your  dogs  thus  to  take  a  wide  sweep  when  he  is  ordered, 
and  head  a  running  covey  before  it  gets  to  the  extremity 
of  the  field — while  the  other  dogs  remain  near  you — 
you  would  be  amply  rewarded  for  months  of  extra 
trouble  in  training,  by  obtaining  shots  on  days  when 
good  sportsmen,  with  fair  average  dogs,  would  hardly 
pull  a  trigger.  And  why  should  you  not?  Success 
would  be  next  to  certain  if  you  could  as  readily  place 
your  dog  exactly  where  you  wish,  as  shepherds  do  their 
collies.  And  whose  fault  will  it  be  if  you  cannot  ? 
Clearly  not  your  dog's,  for  he  is  as  capable  of  receiving 
instruction  as  the  shepherd's. 

291.  Manifestly  it  would  be  worth  while  to  take 
great  pains  to  teach  this  accomplishment,  for  in  all 
countries  it  would  prove  a  most  killing  one  when  birds 
become  wild ;  and  it  would  be  found  particularly  useful 
wherever  the  red-legged  partridge  abounds, — which 
birds  you  will  find  do  not  lie  badly  when  the  coveys 
are,  by  any  means,  well  headed  and  completely  broken. 
But  there  are  other  accomplishments  nearly  as  useful  as 
those  already  detailed;  the  description  of  them,  however, 
we  will  reserve  for  a  separate  Chapter. 


638  DOG-BREAKING. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SETTER  TO    RETRIEVE.     BLOODHOUNDS.     RETRIEVERS   TO 
"BEAT."    WOUNDED  WILD  FOWL  RETRIEVED  FIRST. 

SETTER   TO   RETRIEVE. 

292.  UNDENIABLY  there  is  some  value  in  the  extra 
number  of  shots  obtained  by  means  of  highly-broken 
dogs ;  and  nearly  as  undeniable  is  it  that  no  man,  who 
is  not  over-rich,  will  term  that  teaching  superfluous 
which  enables  him  to  secure  in  one  dog  the  services 
of  two.  Now,  I  take  it  for  granted — as  I  cannot  suppose 
you  are  willing  to  lose  many  head  of  killed  game — that 
you  would  be  glad  to  be  always  accompanied  in  the  field 
by  a  dog  that  retrieves.  Unless  you  have  such  a  com- 
panion, there  will  be  but  little  chance  of  your  often 
securing  a  slightly  winged  bird  in  turnips.  Indeed,  in  all 
rough  shooting,  the  services  of  a  dog  so  trained  are 
desirable  to  prevent  many  an  unfortunate  hare  and 
rabbit  from  getting  away  to  die  a  painful,  lingering 
death ;  and  yet,  if  the  possession  of  a  large  kennel  is 
ever  likely  to  prove  half  as  inconvenient  to  you  as  it 
would  to  me,  you  would  do  well,  according  to  my  idea 
of  the  matter,  to  dispense  with  a  regular  retriever, 
provided  you  have  a  highly-broken  setter  who  retrieves 
well. 


SETTER    TO    RETRIEVE.  639 

293.  I  say  setter  rather  than  pointer,  not  on  account 
of  his  more  affectionate,  and  perhaps  more  docile  dis- 
position— for  certainly  he  is   less  liable  to  sulk  under 
punishment, — but  because,  thanks  to  his  long  coat,  he 
will  be  able  to  work  in  any  cover,  and  that  from  nature 
he  "  roads  "  quicker. 

I  must,  however,  plead  guilty — for  many  good  sports- 
men will  think  I  evince  bad  taste — to  a  predilection  for 
setters — meaning  always  cautious  setters — a  partiality, 
perhaps,  attributable  to  having  shot  more  over  wild, 
uncertain  ground  than  in  well-stocked  preserves.  Doubt- 
less, in  a  very  inclosed  country,  where  game  is  abundant, 
pointers  are  preferable,  far  preferable, — more  especially 
should  there  be  a  scarcity  of  water ;  but  for  severe  and 
fast  work,  and  as  a  servant  of  all  work,  there  is  nothing, 
I  humbly  conceive,  like  the  setter.  He  may  be,  and 
generally  is,  the  more  difficult  to  break;  but,  when 
success  has  crowned  your  efforts,  what  a  noble,  enduring, 
sociable,  attached  animal  you  possess.  I  greatly,  too, 
admire  his  long,  stealthy,  blood-like  action, — for  I  am 
not  speaking  of  the  large  heavy  sort  before  which  in  old 
days  whole  coveys  used  to  be  netted, — and  the  animated 
waving  of  his  stern,  so  strongly  indicative  of  high 
breeding ;  though  strange  to  say,  in  gracefulness  of 
carriage,  the  fox,  when  hunting,  and  actually  on  game, 
far  excels  him.  But  we  are  again  getting  astray  beyond 
our  proper  limits ;  let  us  keep  to  the  subject  of  dog- 
breaking. 

294.  As  it  will  be  your  endeavor,  during  your  pupil's 


640  DOG-BREAKING. 

first  season,  to  make  him.  thoroughly  stanch  and  steady, 
I  cannot  advise  you,  as  a  general  rule — liable,  of  course, 
to  many  exceptions — one  of  which  is  named  in  219 — to 
let  him  retrieve — by  retrieve  I  always  mean  fetch — 
until  the  following  year.  There  is  another  advantage  in 
the  delay.  His  sagacity  will  have  shown  him  that 
the  design  of  every  shot  is  to  bag  the  game — when, 
therefore,  he  has  once  been  permitted  to  pick  up  a  bird, 
he  will  be  desirous  of  carrying  it  immediately  to  you,  and 
will  resist  the  temptation  to  loiter  with  it,  mouthing  and 
spoiling  it ;  and  however  keenly  he  may  have  heretofore 
"  sought  dead,"  he  will  henceforth  search  with  redoubled 
zeal,  from  the  delight  he  will  experience  in  being  per- 
mitted to  carry  his  game.  Moreover,  the  season's  shoot- 
ing, without  lifting,  will  have  so  thoroughly  confirmed 
him  in  the  "  down  charge,"  that  the  increased*  inclination 
to  bolt  off  in  search  of  a  falling  bird  will  be  successfully 
resisted.  If  he  has  been  taught  while  young  to  "  fetch  " 
— 92,  94,  &c., — he  will  be  so  anxious  to  take  the  birds  to 
you,  that  instead  of  there  being  any  difficulty  in  teaching 
him  this  accomplishment,  you  will  often,  during  his  first 
season,  have  to  restrain  him  from  lifting  when  he  is 
"pointing  dead."  The  least  encouragement  will  make 
him  gladly  pick  up  the  birds,  and  give  them,  as  he  ought, 
to  no  one  but  yourself. 

295.  You  need  hardly  be  cautioned  not  to  let  more 

*  "  Increased : "  the  gratification  of  carrying  being  far  greater 
than  that  of  merely  "  pointing  dead." 


SETTER    TO    RETRIEVE.  641 

than  one  dog  retrieve  the  same  bird.  With  more  dogs 
than  one  the  bird  would,  almost  to  a  certainty,  be  torn ; 
and  if  a  dog  once  becomes  sensible  of  the  enjoyment  he 
would  derive  in  pulling  out  the  feathers  of  a  bird,  you 
will  find  it  difficult  to  make  him  deliver  it  up  before 
he  has  in  some  way  disfigured  it.  If  you  shoot  with 
several  dogs  that  retrieve,  be  careful  always  to  let  the 
dog  who  finds  the  game  be  the  one  to  bring  it.  It  is  but 
fair  that  he  should  be  so  rewarded,  and  thus  all  will  be 
stimulated  to  hunt  with  increased  diligence. 

296.  If  the  dog  that  found  the  covey  be  not  able 
to  wind   the   bird   you   have   shot,   make   one   of  the 
other  dogs  take  a  large  circuit.     The  latter  may  thus, 
with  rut  interfering  with  the  first  dog,  come  upon  the 
bird,  should   it   have   run   far.      Send  him  in  the   di- 
rection  the   covey  has  taken — the   chances   are  great 
that  the  bird  is  travelling  towards  the  same  point.     By 
pursuing  this  plan,  obviously  there  will  be  much  less 
chance   of  your  losing   a  bird  than  if  you  allow  the 
dogs  to    keep    close    together  while    searching. — See 
alfo  98. 

297.  Do  not  think  that  by  making  your  setter  lift — 
after  his  first  season — instead  of  "  pointing  dead,"  there 
will  be  any  increased  risk  of  his  raising  unsprung  birds. 
The  difference  between  the  scent  of  dead  or  wounded 
game,    and    that   of  game   perfectly   uninjured,   is   so 
vast,  that  no  steady,  experienced  dog  will  fail  to  point 
any  fresh  bird  he  may  come  across  whilst  seeking  for 
that  which  is  lost 


642  DOG-BREAKTNv>. 

As  a  proof  of  this  I  may  mention  that, 

298.  In  North  America  I  once  saw,  lying  on  the 
ground,  three  snipe,  which  a  pointer,  that  retrieved, 
had  regularly  set  one  after  the  other,  having  found  a 
couple  on  his  way  to  retrieve  the  first,  and  which  he 
afterwards  brought  in  succession  to  his  master,  who  had 
all  the  time  governed  the  dog  entirely  by  signs,  never 
having  been  obliged  to  use  his  voice  beyond  saying,  in 
a  low  tone,  "  Dead,"  or  "  Find."  I  remember,  also, 
hearing  of  a  retrieving  setter  that  on  one  occasion 
pointed  a  fresh  bird,  still  retaining  in  her  mouth  the 
winged  partridge  which  she  was  carrying, — and  of  a 
pointer  who  did  the  same  when  he  was  bringing  a 
hare ;  there  must,  too,  be  few  sportsmen  who  will  not 
admit  that  they  have  found  it  more  difficult  to  make 
a  dog  give  up  the  pursuit  of  a  wounded  hare  than  of 
one  perfectly  uninjured.  I  know  of  a  sportsman's 
saying  he  felt  certain  that  the  hare  his  retriever  was 
coursing  over  the  moors  must  have  been  struck, 
although  the  only  person  who  had  fired  stoutly  main- 
tained that  the  shot  was  a  regular  miss.*  The  owner 
of  the  dog,  however,  averred  that  this  was  impossible, 
as  he  never  could  get  the  discerning  animal  to  follow 

*  I  retain  this  anecdote  because  every  one  of  the  occurrences 
related  has  happened  to  myself.  The  first  many  times  in  the 
United  States ;  the  second  once  in  the  United  States  when  my  dog 
Chavee  pointed  a  fresh  woodcock  with  a  dead  bird  in  his  mouth, 
and  a  winged  bird  under  his  fore  paw;  the  last,  many  times 
in  England  over  an  old  Russian  setter,  Charm. — H.  W.  H. 


SETTER    TO    RETRIEVE.  C  13 

any  kind  of  unwounded  game ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  no  rating  would  make  him  quit  the  pursuit  of 
injured  running  feather  or  fur.  The  retriever's  speedy 
return  with  puss,  conveniently  balanced  between  his 
jaws,  bore  satisfactory  testimony  to  the  accuracy  of 
both  his  own  and  his  master's  judgment. 

299.  Some  good  sportsmen  maintain  that  a  retrieving 
setter — or  pointer — on  finding  a  dead  bird  ought  to 
point  it  until  desired  to  lift  it.  This  training  they 
hold  to  be  advisable,  on  the  ground  that  it  conduces 
to  the  dog's  steadiness  by  diminishing  his  wish  to  run 
forward  on  seeing  a  bird  fall ;  but  the  plan  has  neces- 
sarily this  evil  consequence,  that  should  the  setter, 
when  searching  for  the  dead  bird,  come  across  and 
point,  as  he  ought,  any  fresh  game,  on  your  telling  him 
to  fetch  it — as  you  naturally  will — he  must  spring  it  if 
he  attempt  to  obey  you.  Surely  this  would  tend  more 
to  unsteady  him  than  the  habit  of  lifting  his  dead 
birds  as  soon  as  found?  Your  dog  and  you  ought 
always  to  work  in  the  greatest  harmony — in  the 
mutual  confidence  of  your,  at  all  times,  thoroughly 
understanding  each  other — arid  you  should  carefully 
avoid  the  possibility  of  ever  perplexing  him  by  giving 
him  any  order  it  is  out  of  his  power  to  obey,  however 
much  he  may  exert  himself.  Moreover,  if  you  teach 
your  retrieving  setter  to  "point  dead,"  you  at  once 
relinquish — surely  unnecessarily? — all  hope  of  ever 
witnessing  such  a  fine  display  of  sagacity  and  steadi- 
ness as  has  just  been  related  in  the  first  part  of  298. 


644  DOG-BREAKIXG. 

300.  If  you    object   to   a   setter's  being   taught   to 
lift  on  the  ground  that   it  will  make   the  other  dogs 
jealous,  pray  remember  that  the  argument  has  equal 
force  against  the  employment  of  a  regular  retriever  in 
their  presence. 

REGULAR   RETRIEVER   TO   BEAT. 

301.  We  all  have  our  prejudices — every  Englishman 
has  a  right  to  many.     One  of  mine  is  to  think  a  regular 
retriever    positively  not   worth   his  keep  for    general 
shooting  if  one  of  your  setting  dogs  will  retrieve  well. 
However,  if  you  shoot  much  in  cover,  I  admit  that  a 
regular    retriever  which    can    be   worked    in    perfect 
silence,  never  refusing  to  come  in  when  he  is  merely 
signalled  to,  or,  if  out  of  sight,  softly  whistled  to,  is 
better* — particularly  when  you   employ  beatersf — but 
even  then  he  need  not  be  the  idle  rascal  that   one 
generally  sees — he  might  be  broken  in  to  hunt  close  to 
you,  and  give  you  the  same  service  as  a  mute  spaniel. 
I  grant  this  is  somewhat  difficult  to  accomplish,  for  it 
much  tends  to  unsteady  him,  but  it  can  be  effected — • 
I  have   seen  it — and,  being  practicable,  it  is  at  least- 
worth  trying;  for  if  you  succeed,  you,  as  before — 292 — 
make  one  dog  perform  the  work  of  two ;  and,  besides 
its  evident  advantage  in  thick  cover,  if  he  accompany 

*  Of  course,  a  regular  retriever  is  absolutely  necessary  when  a 
team  of  spaniels  is  hunted,  none  of  which  are  accustomed  to  retrieve. 

\  Regular  retrievers  arc  never  used  in  America  except  on  the 
Chesapeake  bay  for  fowl-shooting. — H.  W.  H. 


SETTER   TO    RETRIEVE.  645 

you  in  your  every-day  shooting,  you  will  thus  obtain, 
in  the  course  of  a  season,  many  a  shot  which  your 
other  dogs,  especially  in  hot  weather,  would  pass 
over.  If,  too,  the  retriever  hunts  quite  close  to  you, 
he  can  in  no  way  annoy  his  companions,  or  interfere 
with  them,  for  I  take  it  for  granted  he  will  be  so 
obedient  as  to  come  to  "heel"  the  instant  he  gets 
your  signal. 

WATER  RETRIEVERS OR   WATER   SPANIELS TO  RETRIEVE 

WOUNDED   BEFORE   PICKING   UP   DEAD   WILD   FOWL. 

302.  This  a  knowing  old  dog  will  often  do  of  his 
own  accord  ;  but  you  must  not  attempt  to  teach  a 
young  one  this  useful  habit  until  you  are  satisfied 
that  there  is  no  risk  of  making  him  blink  his  birds. 
You  can  then  call  him  off  when  he  is  swimming  towards 
dead  birds,  and  signal  to  him  to  follow  those  that  are 
fluttering  away.  If  the  water  is  not  too  deep,  rush 
in  yourself,  and  set  him  a  good  example  by  actively 
pursuing  the  runaways ;  and  until  all  the  cripples  that  can 
be  recovered  are  safely  bagged,  do  not  let  him  lift  one  of 
those  killed  outright.  If  very  intelligent,  he  will  before 
long  perceive  the  advantage  of  the  system,  or  at  least 
find  it  the  more  exciting  method,  and  adhere  to  it  with- 
out obliging  you  to  continue  your  aquatic  excursions. 
For  advice  about  water  retrievers,  see  81  to  85.  I 
have  placed  this  paragraph  among  the  "  refinements  "  in 
breaking ;  but  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  have  entered  it  soon- 
er ;  for  if  you  are  fond  of  duck-shooting,  and  live  in  a 


646 

neighborhood  where  you  have  good  opportunities  of  fol- 
lowing it,  you  should  regard  this  accomplishment  as  a 
necessary  part  of  your  spaniel's  education. 

303.  In  your  part  of  the  country  none  of  these  extra, 
or,  as  some  will  say,  always  superfluous  accomplishments 
may  be  required ;  but  if  you  consider  that  a  pupil  of 
yours  attaining  any  one  of  them  would  be  serviceable, 
be  not  deterred  from  teaching  it  by  the  idea  that  you 
would  be  undertaking  a  difficult  task.     Any  one  of  them, 
I  was  nearly  saying  all  of  them,  could  be  taught  a  dog 
with  far  greater  ease,  and  in  a  shorter  time,  than  a  well- 
established,  judicious  range. 

304.  It  would  be  quite  unreasonable  to  expect  a  regular 
breaker — "  mark  "  I  do  not  say  your  game-keeper — 
to  teach  your  dog  any  of  these  accomplishments.     He 
may  be  fully  aware  of  the  judiciousness  of  the  system, 
and  be  sensible  of  its  great  advantages,  but  the  many 
imperious  calls  upon  his  time  would  preclude  his  pursuing 
it  in  all  its  details.     At  the  usual  present  prices,  it  would 
not  pay  him  to  break  in  dogs  so  highly. 

305.  In  following  Beckford's  advice  respecting  your 
making,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  your  dog  your  "  constant 
companion,"  do  not,  however,  forget  that  you  require 
him  to  evince  great  diligence  and  perseverance  in  the 
field ;  and,  therefore,  that  his  highest  enjoyment  must 
consist  in  being  allowed  to  hunt. 

306.  Now,  it  seems  to  be  a  principle  of  nature, — 
of  canine  as  well  as  human  nature, — to  feel,  through 
life,  most  attachment  to  that  pursuit,  whatever  it  may 


SETTEE    TO    KETKIEVE.  647 

be,  which  is  most  followed  in  youth.  If  a  dog  is 
permitted  as  a  youngster  to  have  the  run  of  the  kitchen, 
he  will  be  too  fond  of  it  when  grown  up.  If  he  is  allowed 
to  amuse  himself  in  every  way  his  fancy  dictates,  he  will 
think  little  of  the  privilege  of  hunting.  Therefore,  the 
hours  he  cannot  pass  with  you — after  you  have  com- 
menced his  education, — I  am  sorry  to  say  it,  but  I  must 
do  so,  he  ought  to  be  in  his  kennel — loose  in  his  kennel,* 
not  tied  up  ;  for  straining  at  his  collar  would  throw  out 
his  elbows,  and  so  make  him  grow  up  bandy-legged. 
If,  however,  he  must  be  fastened,  let  it  be  by  a  chain. 
He  would  soon  learn  to  gnaw  through  a  cord,  especially 
if  a  young  puppy,  who,  from  nature,  is  constantly  using 
hiti  teeth,  and  thus  acquire  a  trick  that  some  day  might 
prove  very  inconvenient  were  no  chain  at  hand.  You 
would  greatly  consult  his  comfort  by  having  the  chain 
attached,  with  a  loose  ring  and  swivel,  to  a  spike  fixed  a 
few  paces  in  front  of  his  kennel,  so  that  he  could  take 
some  exercise  by  trotting  round  and  round. 

307.  When  your  dog  has  attained  some  age,  and 
hunting  has  become  with  him  a  regular  passion,  I  believe 
you  may  give  himt  as  much  liberty  as  you  please  without 
diminishing  his  zeal — but  most  carefully  prevent  his  ever 
hunting  alone,  technically  called  "  self-hunting."  At 
that  advanced  time  of  life,  too,  a  few  occasional  irregu- 

*  Twice  a  day  he  should  be  allowed  to  run  out,  that  he  may  not 
be  compelled  to  adopt  habits  wholly  opposed  to  his  natural 
propensities.  If  he  has  acquired  the  disagreeable  trick  of  howling 
when  shut  up,  put  a  muzzle  011  him. 


648  DOG-BKEAKING. 

larities  in  the  field  may  be  innocuously  permitted.  The 
steadiest  dogs  will,  at  times,  deviate  from  the  usual 
routine  of  their  business,  sagaciously  thinking  that  such 
departure  from  rule  must  be  acceptable  if  it  tends  to 
obtain  the  game ;  and  it  will  be  advisable  to  leave  an 
experienced  dog  to  himself  whenever  he  evinces  great 
perseverance  in  spontaneously  following  some  unusual 
plan.  You  may  have  seen  an  old  fellow,  instead  of 
cautiously  "  reading  "  and  "  pointing  dead,"  rush  for- 
ward and  seize  an  unfortunate  winged  bird,  while  it  was 
making  the  best  use  of  its  legs  after  the  flight  of  the 
rest  of  the  covey — some  peculiarity  in  the  scent  emitted 
having  probably  betrayed  to  the  dog's  practised  nose 
that  the  bird  was  injured.  When  your  pup  arrives 
at  such  years  of  discrimination,  you  need  not  so  vigo- 
rously insist  upon  a  patient  "  down  charge  "  should  you 
see  a  winged  cock-pheasant  running  into  cover.  Your 
dog's  habits  of  discipline  would  be,  I  should  hope,  too 
well  confirmed  by  his  previous  course  of  long  drill  for 
such  a  temporary  departure  from  rule  to  effect  any  per- 
manent mischief;  but  oh !  beware  of  any  such  laxity  with 
a  young  pupil,  however  strongly  you  may  be  tempted. 
In  five  minutes  you  may  wholly  undo  the  labor  of  a 
month.  On  days,  therefore,  when  you  are  anxious, 
cottte  qui  codle^  to  fill  the  game-bag,  pray  leave  him 
at  home.  Let  him  acquire  any  bad  habit  when  you 
are  thus  pressed  for  birds,  and  you  will  have  more  diffi- 
culty in  eradicating  it  than  you  would  have  in  teaching 
him  almost  any  accomplishment.  This  reason  made  me 


SETTER   TO   RETRIEVE.  649 

all  along  keep  steadily  in  view  the  supposition,  that  you 
had  commenced  with  a  dog  un vitiated  by  evil  associates, 
either  biped  or  quadruped  ;  for  assuredly  you  would  find 
it  far  easier  to  give  a  thoroughly  good  education  to  such 
a  pupil,  than  to  complete  the  tuition  (particularly  in  his 
range)  of  one  usually  considered  broken,  and  who  must, 
in  the  natural  order  of  things,  have  acquired  some  habits 
more  or  less  opposed  to  your  own  system.  If,  as  a  pup- 
py, he  had  been  allowed  to  self-hunt  and  chase,  your 
labor  would  be  herculean.  And  inevitably  this  would 
have  been  your  task  had  you  ever  allowed  him  to  associ- 
ate with  any  dog  who  "  self-hunted."  The  oldest  friend 
in  your  kennel  might  be  led  astray  by  forming  an  inti- 
macy with  the  veriest  cur,  if  a  "  self-hunter."  There  is  a 
fascination  in  the  vice — above  all,  in  killing  young  hares 
and  rabbits — that  the  steadiest  dog  cannot  resist  when  he 
has  been  persuaded  to  join  in  the  sport  by  some  vaga- 
bond of  a  poacher  possessing  a  tolerable  nose,  rendered 
keenly  discerning  by  experience. 

308.  I  hope  that  by  this  time  we  too  well  understand 
each  other  for  you  now  to  wonder  why  I  think  that  you 
should  not  commence  hunting  your  young  dog  where 
game  is  abundant.  Professional  breakers  prefer  such 
ground,  because,  from  getting  plenty  of  points,  it  enables 
them  to  train  their  dogs  more  quickly,  and  sufficiently 
well  to  ensure  an  early  sale.  This  is  their  object,  and 
they  succeed.  My  object  is  that  you  shall  establish 
ultimately  great  perseverance  and  a  fine  range  in  your 
young  dog,  let  birds  be  ever  so  scarce.  If  you  show 

28 


650  DOG-BREAKING. 

him  too  many  at  first,  he  will  subsequently  become  easily 
dispirited  whenever  he  fails  in  getting  a  point. 

309.  The  good  condition  of  a  dog's  nose  is  far  from 
being  an  immaterial  part  of  his  conditioning,  for  on 
the  preservation  of  its  sensitiveness  chiefly  depends  your 
hope  of  sport.     If  it  be  dry  from  being  feverish,  or  if  it 
be  habituated  to  the  villanous  smells  of  an  impure  kennel, 
how  are  you  to  expect  it  to  acknowledge  the  faintest 
taint  of  game — yet  one  that,  if  followed  up  by  olfactory 
nerves  in  high  order,  would  lead  to  a  sure  find  ?     Sweet- 
ness of  breath  is  a  strong  indication  of  health.     Cleanli- 
ness is  as  essential  as  a  judicious  diet  ;  and  you  may  be 
assured,  that  if  you  look  for  excellence,  you  must  always 
have  your  youngster's  kennel  clean,  dry,  airy,  and  yet 
sufficiently  warm.     The  more  you  attend  to  this,  the 
greater  will  be  his  bodily  strength  and  the  finer  his 
nose. 

In  India  the  kennels  are,  of  course,  too  hot ;  but  in 
the  best  constructed  which  fell  under  my  observation, 
the  heat  was  much  mitigated  by  the  roofs  being  thickly 
thatched  with  grass.  In  England,  however,  nearly  all 
kennels — I  am  not  speaking  of  those  for  hounds — are- 
far  too  cold  in  winter. 

310.  There    must    be    sufficient    warmth.      Observe 
how  a  petted  dog,  especially  after  severe  exercise,  lays 
himself  down  close  to  the  fire,  and  enjoys  it.      Do  you 
not  see  that  instinct  teaches  him  to  do  this?  and  must 
it  not  be  of  great  service  to  him?     Why,   therefore, 
deny  him  in   cold  weather,  after  a  hard  day's  work,  a 


SETTER   TO    RETRIEVE.  651 

place  on  the  hearth-rug  ?  It  is  the  want  of  sufficient  heat 
in  the  kennels,  and  good  drying  and  brushing  after  hard 
work,  that  makes  sporting  dogs,  particularly  if  they  are 
long-coated  ones,  suffer  from  rheumatism,  blear  eyes, 
and  many  ills  that  generally,  but  not  necessarily,  attend 
them  in  old  age. 

CONCLUSION. 

311.  GENTLE    Reader,   according  to   the    courteous 
phraseology  of  old  novels,  though  most  probably  I  ought 
to    say   Brother    Sportsman  ; — If  you  have   had   the 
patience   to  attend  me,  through  the  preceding  pages, 
while  I  have  been  describing  the  educational  course  of 
a  dog  from  almost  his  infancy,  up  to  maturity,  I  will 
hope  that  I  may  construe  that  patience  into  an  evidence 
that  they  have  afforded  you  some  amusement,  and  per- 
haps, some  useful  instruction. 

312.  Though  I  may  have  failed  in  persuading  you  to 
undertake  the  instruction  of  your  dogs  yourself,   yet  I 
trust  I  have  shown  you  how  they  ought  to  be  broken 
in :  and  if  you  are  a  novice  in  the  field,  I  hope  I  have 
clearly  explained  to  you  in  what  manner  they  ought  to 
be  shot  over — a  knowledge  which  no  one  can  possess  by 
intuition,  and  which  you  will  find  nearly  as  essential  to 

1  the  preservation  of  the  good  qualities  of  well-tutored 
dogs  as  to  the  education  of  uninformed  ones. 

313.  I  believe  that  all  I  have  said  is  perfectly  true, 
and,  as  the  system  which  I  have  described  advocates 
kind  treatment  of  man's  most  faithful  companion,  and 


652  DOG-BREAKING. 

his  instruction  with  mildness  rather  than  severity, 
I  trust  that  you  will  be  induced  to  give  it  a  fair  trial, 
and  if  you  find  it  successful,  recommend  its  adoption. 

314.  I  dare  not  ask  for  the  same  favor  at  the  hands 
of  the  generality  of  regular  trainers — I  have  no  right  to 
expect  such  liberality.     They,  naturally  enough,  will  not 
readily  forgive  my  intruding  upon  what  they  consider 
exclusively  their   own   domain, — and,   above   all,  they 
will  not  easily  pardon  my  urging  every  sportsman  to 
break  in  his  own  dogs.     They  will,  I  know,  endeavor  to 
persuade  their  employers  that  the  finished   education 
which  I  have  described  is  useless,  or  quite  unattainable, 
without  a  great  sacrifice  of  time ;  and  that,  therefore,  the 
system  which  I  advocate  is  a  bad  one.     They  will  wish 
it  to  be  forgotten — that  I  advise  a  gradual  advance,  step 
by  step,  from  the  A,  B,  C  ; — that  accomplishments  have 
only  been  recommended  after  the  acquisition  of  essen- 
tials— never  at  the  expense  of  essentials ;   that  at  any 
moment  it  is  in  the  instructor's  power  to  say,  "  I  am 
now  satisfied  with  the  extent  of  my  pupil's  acquirements, 
and   have  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  teach  him 
more  ;" — and  that  they  cannot  suggest  quicker  means  of 
imparting  any  grade  of  education,  however  incomplete  ; 
at  least  they  do  not — I  wish  they  would ;   few  would 
thank  them  more  than  myself. 

315.  Greatly  vexed  at  the  erroneous  way  in  which  I 
saw  some  dogs  instructed  in  the  north  by  one  who  from 
his  profession  should  have  known  better,  I  promised,  on 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  to  write.     If  I  could  have 


SETTER   TO    KETIUEVE.  653 

purchased  any  work  which  treated  the  subject  111  what 
I  considered  a  judicious  and  perspicuous  manner,  and, 
above  all,  which  taught  by  what  means  a  finished  edu- 
cation could  be  imparted,  I  would  gladly  have  recom- 
mended the  study  of  it, — have  spared  myself  the  trouble 
of  detailing  the  results  of  my  own  observations  and  ex- 
perience,— and  not  have  sought  to  impose  on  any  one 
the  task  of  reading  them.  When  I  began  the  book, 
and  even  when  I  had  finished  it,  I  intended  to  put  it 
forth  without  any  token  by  which  the  writer  might  be 
discovered.  Mr.  Murray,  however,  forcibly  represented 
that  unless  the  public  had  some  guarantee  for  the  fidelity 
of  the  details  there  would  be  no  chance  of  the  little 
work  being  circulated,  or  proving  useful ;  therefore, 
having  written  solely  from  a  desire  to  assist  my  brother 
sportsmen  and  to  show  the  injudiciousness  of  severity, 
with  a  wish  that  my  readers  might  feel  as  keen  a  zest 
for  shooting  as  I  once  possessed,  and  with  a  charitable 
hope  that  they  might  not  be  compelled  to  seek  it  in  as 
varied  climates  as  was  my  lot,  I  at  once  annexed  my 
address  and  initials  to  the  manuscript. 

W.  N.  H, 

United  Service  dub, 


EDITOR'S  NOTE. 


IN  section  299,  page  643,  Col.  Hutchinson  argues  against  a 
retrieving  Pointer  or  Setter,  pointing  a  dead  bird  when  ordered 
"find?  and  not  lifting  it  until  ordered  to  "fetch."  This  is  the 
single  rule  of  breaking  in  which  I  wholly  differ  from  the  Colonel ; 
but  here  I  differ  so  widely,  that  I  would  not  own  a  dog  which 
did  not  point  until  ordered  to  "  fetch  ;"  and  I  consider  that  one 
which  "fetches"  without  pointing,  when  simply  ordered  to 
"find,"  is  worthless. 

Col.  Hutchinson  argues  that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  scent 
of  a  wounded  and  an  unwounded  bird,  which  enables  a  dog  cer- 
tainly to  discriminate  between  the  two,  so  that  he  may  be  trusted 
to  point  all  the  live  birds  he  may  meet  in  the  way  to  find  his  dead 
bird,  and  yet  to  rush  upon  the  latter  and  pick  him  up  without 
making  any  pause.  On  the  other  hand,  he  argues  as  if  there 
were  no  difference  in  the  scent  of  the  two,  when  he  says  that  if 
the  dog  be  taught  to  point  until  ordered  to  "  fetch,"  and  chance 
to  point  a  live  bird  before  finding  the  dead,  he  will  flush  the  live 
bird  on  being  ordered  to  "  fetch"  the  dead.  I  admit  that  there  is 
a  difference  of  soent  at  all  times  to  the  best  nosed  dogs,  but  very 
faint,  even  to  the  best,  in  bad  scenting  weather ;  but  that  differ- 
ence will  more  easily  make  the  dog  refuse  to  flush  a  live  bird,  u 
he  do  point  before  fetching,  than  make  him  pause  to  point  a  live 
one,  if  allowed  to  rush  in  upon  dead  ones.  The  only  rule  that 
will  keep  a  dog  always  up  to  his  business  is,  that  he  shall  always 
"point"  every  game  bird  or  animal  he  comes  upon,  dead  or 
living,  and  always  "  drop?  when  it  runs  or  rises,  whether  a  shot 
be  fired  or  not.  I  hava  always  shot  over  dogs  broken  to  point 


EDITOR'S    NOTE.  655 

before  fetching.  I  have  often  been  deceived  in  supposing  a  fresh 
bird  newly  pointed  to  be  the  killed  one,  but  have  always  found 
ray  dogs  to  hesitate  so  distinctly,  before  obeying  the  order  to 
"fetch"  as  to  make  it  evident  that  I  was  in  error,  and  allow  ma 
to  correct  it. 

For  the  better  comprehension  of  the  above  admirable  treatise 
on  breaking,  I  wish  to  add,  for  the  benefit  of  the  American 
sportsmen,  that,  wherever  Col.  Hutchinson  speaks  of  the  part- 
ridge, it  is  the  English  bird  which  he  intends,  which,  in  its  habits, 
is  closely  analogous  to  our  quail ;  and  that  all  his  precepts  as  to 
breaking  on  partridge  hold  good  precisely  for  the  quail  with  us. 
In  the  same  way  all  his  precepts  for  grouse-shooting  apply, 
letter  for  letter,  to  our  prairie-fowl-shooting ;  and  his  precepts 
for  pheasant-shooting  to  the  hunting  and  shooting  of  our  ruffed 
grouse,  called  in  the  northern  states  the  partridge,  and  in  the 
southern  and  western  the  pheasant.  When  he  speaks  of  the 
rabbit  as  distinct  from  the  hare,  he  alludes  to  a  European  animal 
which  does  not  exist  in  America,  the  original  stock  of  the  tame 
rabbit,  which  has  the  habit  of  burrowing  in  the  ground  and 
dwelling  in  great  communities,  known  as  warrens.  We  have 
two  kinds  of  hare,  the  small  one  commonly  known  as  the  rabbit, 
and  the  large  Canadian  hare,  which  turns  white  in  winter ;  but 
no  genuine  rabbit.  Hutchinson's  rules  as  to  breaking,  in  regard 
to  the  English  hares  and  rabbits,  hold  good  of  both  our  varieties. 

I  will  only  say  farther,  that  when  he  speaks  of  shooting  in 
turnips  or  potatoes,  we  may  apply  his  rules  to  any  tall-growing 
vegetable  covert,  such  as  clover,  rag  weed,  wild  meadow-grass, 
or  the  like,  those  crops  not  being  so  extensively  cultivated  with  us 
as  to  be  haunted  in  general  by  game.  Similarly,  when  he  men- 
tions breaking  spaniels  to  gorse,  we  may  substitute  hollies,  black- 
brush,  cat-briers,  and  any  other  thorny  covert  common  in  any 
section  of  the  country;  but,  in  fact,  no  especial  breaking  is 
needed  with  us,  as  we  have  no  brake  which  exactly  compares 
with  furze.  H.  w.  H. 


INDEX. 


ABSCESS,  about  tbe  tail,  288,  284. 
treatment  of,  284. 
In  the  flap  of  the  ear,  427. 
treatment  of,  ib. 

Accomplishments  or  Refinements — 
distinguishing  dog  whistles,  629. 
dog  to  back  the  gun,  680. 
to  head  running  birds,  635. 
to  hunt  without  gun,  683. 
to  retreat  and  resume  point,  682. 
regular  retrievers  to  beat,  644. 
setter  to  retrieve,  638. 
water  retriever  to  fetch  cripples,  645 
Action  of  physic  on  dogs,  107. 
Acute  purgation,  263. 

treatment  of,  264. 
rheumatism,  274. 

treatment  of,  276. 
Administration  of  medicine,  106. 
Advice  to  practitioners,  80. 
Affection  an  incentive,  565. 
After-discharge,  894. 
Age  for  education,  470, 495,  527. 
Aids  to  promote  labor,  876. 
Assistance,  when  to  be  afforded  during 

pupping,  860. 
Asthma,  218. 

treatment  of,  220. 
Attention,  necessary,  for  the  sucking 

bitch,  400. 

necessary,  to  the  teeth  of  the 
dog,  183. 


Avoid  having  a  battle 
Axioms,  576,  618. 


BACK,  turned  brings  dog  away,  557. 
Backing,  how  taught,  614,  615. 

initiatory  lesson  in,  488. 

the  gun,  630. 
Battle,  avoid  having  one  with  a  dog,  82 


_  :,  taught,  527,  529,  538,  541 

bad,  hard  to  euro,  581 

28* 


Beat,  good,  difficult  but  invaluable,  54ft 

Herbert's  opinion,  560. 

without  gun,  688. 

of  five  or  six  dogs,  562. 

of  four  dogs,  561. 

of  three  dogs,  560. 

of  two  dogs,  558. 

taught  following  dog,  549. 
Beef-tea,  how  to  make,  97. 
Beckon,  why  useful  signal,  482. 
and  "Heel"  differ,  485. 
Bitch,  in  use,  24. 
in  pup,  26. 


Bells  put  on  dogs,  496. 

dogs  err,  concise  hints,  628. 


Best 


Bird,  dead,  loss  of  discourages  dog,  592 
dead,  seized  and  torn  by  dog,  597. 
shot  on  ground  steadies  dog,  610. 
shot,  search  for,  570,  589,  591,  598, 

597,  641. 

shot,  signal  heel,  573. 
winged,  shoot  on  ground,  591. 
Birds,  lie  well,  dog  winding  them,  547. 
wild,  intercepted,  685,  686. 
wounded,  scent  differs,  641. 
wounded,  first  retrieved,  645. 
wounded,  make  for  covey,  641. 
wounded,  found  evening,  595. 
wounded,  the  search  for,  570. 
wounded,  observed  by  dog,  518. 
Black  too  conspicuous  a  color,  508. 
Blacksmith  shoeing  kicker,  494. 
Blinking  dead  bird,  571. 

from  punishment,  611. 
initiatory  lessons  prevent,  471. 
Bones  of  the  dog  not  rightly  placed  in 
the  skeleton  at  the  London 
Veterinary  College,  109. 
stones  and  bricks  not  good  for 

dogs,  185. 

when  large,  do  not  injure  dogs,  91  . 
Boots,  to  render  waterproof,  57. 
Bowel  diseases,  56,  246. 
Brace  of  dogs  sufficient,  if  good,  187. 


Breaking  of  young  dogs,  29. 
Break  in  dogs  yourself,  464. 
Breaker,  qualifications  required,  466. 
one  better  than  two,  470. 


658 


INDEX. 


Breaker,  hunt  too  many,  475,  620. 

idle,  dislike  bold  dogs,  554. 
Breaking  fence  prevented,  556. 
Breeding  in-and-in  bad,  679. 
Breeding,  15,  21,  25. 
Bronchocele,  148. 

treatment  of,  199. 
Bruises,  remedy  for,  55. 
Bull-dogs,  remarks  upon,  402. 


CANCER  of  the  scrotum,  819. 
of  the  teats,  408. 
of  the  vagina,  844. 
Canker,  within  aud  without  the  ear,  58, 

54,419. 
causes,  ib. 
external,  421. 

treatment  of,  423. 
Internal,  424. 

former  accounts  of,  ib. 
treatment  of,  423. 
of  the  mouth,  189. 

treatment  of,  190. 
Capped  hock  or  elbow,  452. 

treatment  for,  453. 
Care,  necessary  for  the  pups,  378. 
required  after  pupping,  391. 
signal  for,  484. 
Carrots  for  horses,  469. 
Carrying,  how  taught,  510. 
Carts,  dog,  442. 
Cases,  details  of  various,  61.. 
Castor  oil,  116.  f 

Castration,  323. 
Cataract, 


Catheter,  passing  of  the,  329,  877. 
•  Caution,  taught  to  fast  dogs,  516,  552. 
in  excess,  5S3. 
cure  for,  584. 

Cautious  and  wild  dog  contrasted,  551. 
dog  rarely  too  fast, 

551. 

Chain  better  than  cord,  647. 
Check  cord,  489,  490,  5S1,  588. 

spike  to,  476,  580,  609. 
Chemists  to  be  avoided  as  doctors  for 

dogs,  196 

Choice  of  a  male,  347. 
Chronic  diarrhoea,  265 

treatment  of,  266. 
Chronic  hepatitis,  221. 

symptoms  of,  222. 
treatment  of,  225. 

Circle  wide  when  heading  dog,  569. 
Claws,  437. 

to  cut,  438. 
dew,  437.' 

falling  off  of  the,  439. 
sinuses  up  the,  440. 
Clean,  to,  the  dog's  teeth,  186. 
Clumber  spaniels,  502. 
Cock  shooting,  482. 
Cocker,  the,  20. 


Cold  or  coriza,  209. 
Colic,  252. 

symptoms  of,  253. 
treatment  of,  255. 
Collar  and  chain,  102. 

a  light  one  on  dog,  565. 
Colors  for  concealment,  508. 
Commands,  given  in  a  low  tone,  473. 

understood   before   seeing 

game,  471. 

Comb  and  brush,  lol. 
Companion,  dog  to  be  yours,  473. 

initiatory  lessons  with,  487, 

488. 

Condition,  42. 

Confidence  of  the  dog,  how  to  gain,  82. 
Consistency  necessary,  466,  578. 
Coolness  recommended,  578. 
Costiveness,  247. 

treatment  of,  250. 
Cough,  202. 

treatment  of,  203. 
Couple  to  older  dog,  479. 
Couples,  accustomed  to,  487. 
Courage,  created,  530,  614. 
Covert,  pointers  in,  506 
Cripples,  first  retrieved,  645. 
Crotchet,  384. 

D. 

DANGER  of  domestic  remedies,  77. 
Dead  bird,  blinking  of,  571. 

lifted  by  you,  error  of,  511. 

loss  of,  discourages  dog,  592. 

rushing  into,  597,  622. 

search  for,  626,  647,  649. 

search  for,  with  two  dogs, 

the  first  killed,  569. 
to  be  pointed,  571. 
but  not  by  retrieving  point- 
er, &c.,  643. 
torn  by  dog,  597. 

Dead,  initiatory  lesson  in,  473,  480. 
Death  of  unborn  pups,  sign  of,  888. 
Dew-claws,  437. 
Diarrhoea,  261. 
Digestive  discharge,  313. 

symptoms  of,  314. 
treatment  of,  316. 
Diseases  dependent  on  internal  organs^ 

240. 

of  the  limbs,  437. 
Distance,  between  parallels,  546. 

dog's  knowledge  of,  582. 
Distemper,  46,  58, 120. 

brain  not  subject  to  -disease 

in,  138. 

chorea  in,  145. 
disposition  of  dogs  to  gnaw 

their  bodies  in,  148. 
dogs  may  have  the  disease 

many  times,  135. 
the  dogs  that  most  escape  it? 
attacks,  126 


INDEX. 


659 


Distemper,  earliest  symptoms  of,  126. 
eruption  in,  142. 
exercise  and  food  influence 

the  disorder,  126. 
eyes  in,  132. 
fainting  fits  in,  149. 
fearful  cries  in,  137. 
fits  in,  140. 
its     causes     undiscovered, 

124. 

importance  of  diet  in,  152. 
liver  involved  in,  134. 
lungs  diseased  in,  133. 
morbid  appetite  during  the 

fits  in,  16T. 

ordinary  treatment  for,  121. 
paralysis  of  the  hind  legs  in, 

periods  when  it  attacks  ani- 
mals, 125. 

popular  remedies  for,  122. 
resembles  continued  fever, 

123. 
skin  peels  after  an  attack  of, 

149. 

stomach  and  intestinal  dis- 
eases in,  135. 
symptoms  when  it  abates, 

132. 

treatment  for,  154. 
tumours  in,  144. 
very  treacherous,  130. 
when   the  disease  is  esta- 
blished, 127. 

Distribution  of  the  dog,  73. 
Diving,  how  taught,  513. 
Dog-carts,  442. 
Dog's  tooth-brush,  188. 
Dogs,  are  generally  misunderstood,  76. 
are  very  intelligent,  103. 
shape  of,  639. 
slow  beating,  more  than  faster, 

503. 

wildest,  most  energetic,  489,  581. 
Down,  see  "  Drop." 

charge,  dog  pointing  not  to,  618. 
initiatory  lesson  in,  478. 
why  retrievers  should, 

521. 

"Drop,"  a  better  word  than  "down," 
536. 


dog,  to  game  rising,  601. 
initiatory  lessons  in,  474,  476, 

478. 
unnatural,    "  Toho,"    natural, 

476. 
Dropsy  of  the  chest,  217. 

treatment  of,  217. 
of  the  uterus,  345. 
of  the  perinaeum,  289. 

treatment  of,  291. 
Duck,  wood  duck  of  America,  631. 

ehooting,  in  wild  rice,  509. 
Ducks,  wounded,  first  retrieved,  645. 
Dyser.tery,  261. 


E. 

EAB,  canker  within  and  without,  53.  54, 

419. 

causes,  420. 
torn,  56. 

rounding  of  the  dog's,  422. 
Ears,  not  pulled  violently,  601. 
Eating,  dogs  have  lively  sympathies  tor, 

95. 

of  the  young  by  the  mother,  398. 
Education,  age  when  commenced,  471. 
best  conducted  by  one,  470. 
commenced  from  A  B  C,  652. 
expeditious,  economical,4S9. 
Ejection  of  the  eye,  435. 

treatment  for,  436. 
Emetics,  117. 
Energy,  wildest  dogs  have  most,  489, 

531. 
Enlargement  of  the  testicle,  835. 

treatment  of,  ib. 
Enteritis,  257. 

symptoms  of,  258. 

treatment  of,  259. 

Ergot  of  rye  not  a  good  uterine  excitant 

to  the  bitch,  365. 
Examination  of  a  dog,  how  to  conduct, 

81. 
Example,  advantageous,  615. 

especially  to  spaniels,  495. 
yours,  has  influence,  569,  622. 
Exercise,  42,  90. 

on  the  road,  493. 
Experiments,  108. 
External  canker,  421. 

treatment  of,  423. 
Eye,  the,  429. 

films  over,  56. 
ejection  of,  435. 
treatment  for,  486. 


F. 

FALLING  off  of  the  claw,  489. 

of  the  vagina,  402. 
Fastest  dogs  not  beating  most,  502. 

walkers  not  beating  most,  564. 
Fasting,  initiatory  lessons  in,  469. 
Fatigued,  dog  not  hunted  when,  557. 
Faults,  punishment  expected  for,  614. 
Feeding  time,  lessons  at,  479. 

pistol  fired  at,  478. 
Feet,  58. 

ailments  of,  437-443. 
of  partridges  given  to  dogs,  642. 
Fence,  not  to  be  broken,  556. 

"ware  fence,"  initiatory  lesson 

in,  486. 
Fetching,  evil  of  not,  638. 

lessons  in,  510,  512 
Fevers,  bilious,  55. 
Fields,  largest  beat,  539. 
Films  over  the  eyes,  56. 
"  Find,"  initiatory  lessons,  480,  481, 
"  Finder"  not  to  advance,  617. 


660 


INDEX. 


"  Finder"  retrieves,  641. 
Fire,  dog  to  bask  before,  558. 
First  good  point,  56& 
bird  killed,  569. 
Fits  in  the  dog,  55,  295. 
sucking,  896. 

what  to  do  when  they  occur,  296. 
treatment  of,  297. 
Flap  of  the  ear,  abscess  in,  427. 

treatment  of,  ib. 
Flapper  shooting,  647. 
Fleas,  remedy  for,  56. 
Flogging,  how  administered,  598. 

reprobated,  468,  611. 
"Flown,"  initiatory  lesson,  486. 

real,  603. 

Fluids,  to  give,  118. 
Food  for  a  diseased  dog,  96. 
proper  for  dogs,  40,  90. 
Foot-sore,  58,  440. 
Footing  a  scent,  487,  511,  581. 
Forceps  ought  not  to  be  used  during 

parturition,  871. 

Form  desirable  in  a  bitch  for  breed- 
ing, 349. 

Forward  initiatory  lesson,  481. 
"Foul,"  239. 

Fowls,  killing  of,  the  cure,  627. 
Fractures,  444. 

treatment  for,  446. 
Fungoid  tumours,  840. 

G. 

GAIN,  to,  the  confidence  of  a  dog,  82. 
Game  book,  form  of,  68. 

lies  too  close  in  turnips,  551. 
not  shown  too  soon  to  dog,  471,538. 
spring  toward  gun,  496,  508. 
Gastritis,  233. 

what  dogs  most  liable  to,  284. 
treatment  of,  236. 
Generative  organs,  female,  887. 

male,  818. 

Give,  to,  solids,  111. 
fluids,  113. 

Glans,  swelling  of,  827. 
Gone,  initiatory  lesson,  486. 

real,  608. 

Gorse,  spaniels  to  be  habituated  to,  495. 
Greyhounds,  food  for,  in  training,  56. 
Growths,  morbid,  in  the  bitch,  888. 
Gun,  dog  to  back  the,  630. 

first  over  fence,  not  dog,  556. 
game  flushed  toward  the,  496, 508, 

603. 
Guns,  a  few  words  on,  41. 

to  preserve  the  barrels  from  rust 

of  salt  water,  57. 
water-proofing  for  the  locks  58. 
Gutta  Serena,  481. 
causes,  ib. 


H.EMATITRIA,  826. 

Hand,  bird  delivered  into,  511. 


Hane,  rewards  taken  from,  478. 
Hare,  chase  of,  checked,  607,  608. 

heavy,  tempts  dog  to  drop,  519. 
killed  in  form,  steadies  dog,  610. 
scent  of  strong,  607. 
shooting  of  condemned,  604. 
wounded,  dog  may  pursue,  610. 
Haste,  when  imperative,  during  pup 

ping,  883. 
Heading  birds,  685. 

dog,  making  too  stanch,  588. 

circle  wide,  509. 
Heat,  55,  858. 
Hedge,  farthest  side  hunted,  496. 

rows  not  to  be  hunted,  542. 
Heel,  signal  to,  on  killing,  578,  577. 

signal  to,  482,  485. 
Hepatitis,  221. 

chronic,  ib. 
symptoms  of,  228. 
treatment  of,  225. 
Herbert's  Field  Sports  in  the  United 

States,  560. 

Hereditary  instincts,  525,  597. 
H  arses  how  taught  at  Astley's,  468. 

fed  on  firing,  478. 
Hot  bath  kills  during  parturition,  864. 


IMITATIVE,  dogs  are,  568. 
In-and-in  breeding  injudicious,  579. 
Independence  imparted,  628. 
Indigestion,  287,  282. 

symptoms  of,  228. 
treatment  of,  229. 
Inflammation  of  the  bowels,  56. 
of  the  lungs,  211. 
treatment  of,  215. 
Initiatory  lessons  important,  469,  471, 

480,  529,  582. 
Injuries  to  the  tongue,  195. 

treatment  of,  ib. 
Instrument,  parturition,  recommended, 

881. 

Instruments,  certain,  when  lawful  to 
employ  them  in  pup- 
ping, 872. 

as  a  rule  deadly  in  parturi- 
tion, 868. 
Internal  canker,  424 

former  accounts  of,  ib. 
treatment  for,  425. 
Intestines,  peculiarity  of,  246. 
Introsusception,  268. 
Inversion  of  the  womb,  404. 


KENNEL,  the,  44. 

dog  ought  to  be  in  his,  646. 
Killing  fowls,  the  remedy,  627. 

sheep,  cure  attempted,  625. 
Kind  of  dogs  alluded  to  in  this  book,  89. 


LABOB  pains,  false,  861 


INDEX. 


661 


Large  bone  may  be  given  to  dogs,  91. 

Larynx,  201. 

Leeward,  beat  from,  565. 

Left  baud  signals  "  down  charge,"  476. 

less  tban  rigbt,  535. 
side  of  dog,  keep  on,  588. 
signal  for  dog  to  go  on  the,  481. 
Lessons,  initiatory,  reasonable,  469,  471, 

488,  529. 

walking  in  the  fields,  527. 
Lice,  27,  65,  105. 
Lifting  a  dog,  691,  636,  642. 
Limbs,  diseases  of  the,  437. 
Liver,  a  mild  laxative  to  dogs,  98. 

hard-boiled,  519. 
Lungs,  inflammation  of,  211. 

treatment  of,  215. 
Luxuries  hurt  the  teeth  of  dogs,  182. 


MAKE  beef-tea,  how  to,  9T. 
Mange,  a  general  term  only,  410. 

a  second  description  of,  412. 

treatment  for,  418. 

true,  ib. 

treatment  for,  ib. 

another  form,  414. 

treatment  for,  51,  415. 

a  fourth  sort,  417. 

treatment  for,  Ib. 

a  fifth  kind,  ib. 

treatment  for,  ib. 
Markers  used  with  spaniels,  505. 
Medicine,  how  to  administer,  50, 106. 

generally  alluded  to,  119. 
Milk,  how  to  draw  from  a  bitch,  401. 
Morbid  growths  in  the  bitch,  338. 
Mouth,  how  to  hold  open,  111. 

teeth,  tongue,  gullet,  &c.,  179. 

canker  of  the,  189. 

treatment  of,  190. 

Mute  spaniels,  old  sportsmen  prefer,  506. 
Muzzle,  to,  the  dog  with  tape  for  opera- 
tions, 428. 

N. 

NAMES  ending  In  w  0  "  dissimilar,  536. 
Nervous  diseases,  295. 
-  system,  299. 
Nipping  the  teeth  oft;  193. 
"  No,"  better  word  than  "  ware,"  487. 
Noise  spoils  sport,  466,  473,  589. 
Nose  carried  high,  485,  647. 
Nosing  allowed,  598. 
Number  of  pups  a  bitch  can  rear,  26, 

895. 
Numerous 


OESTRUM,  858. 

Old  dog  allowed  liberties,  648. 
range  taught  with,  649. 


"  On,"  initiatory  lesson  in,  478,  474. 
Opening  pills,  116. 
Operations,  450. 

mode  of  performing,  451. 
Ophthalmia,  simple,  482 

symptoms  of,  ib. 

treatment  for,  433. 
Original  of  the  dog  inquired  after,  73. 

P. 

PABALLELS,  distance  between,  546.  547 
Paralysis,  270. 

treatment  of,  278. 
of  the  tongue,  198 
Parturition,  846. 

what  is  necessary  at,  859. 
Passing  the  catheter,  330. 
Patience  enjoined,  568. 

required  at  a  pupping,  876. 
Peculiarity  of  the  intestines,  246. 
Peg  or  spike  on  a  check-cord,  580,  609. 
Perseverance  and  range  attained,  649. 

in  seeking  taught,  593. 
Perin»um,  dropsy  of,  845. 
Physic,  how  to  administer,  50, 106 

action  of,  on  dogs,  107. 
Piles,  278. 

treatment  of,  281. 
Pills,  opening,  116. 
Pincushion,  retrievers  fetch,  513. 
Pistol,  horse  fed  at  discharge  of,  478. 
Point,  dead,  570. 

left  and  resumed,  683. 

not  quitted  for  down  charge,  576, 

the  first  good  one,  568. 
Pointers,  16,  28. 

out  of  place  in  strong  cover, 

506. 

points,  638. 

Pointing,  dog  not  soon,  528,  580,  589. 
dog  when  not  to  down,  618. 
origin  of,  476. 

Poisoning,  what  to  do  in  case  of,  55. 
Polypus,  841. 

how  to  recognise,  842. 
Pot-hunting  sportsmen  ruin  doers,  621. 
Preparatory  lessons,  important,  469, 471, 

529,  522,  563. 
Presentations,  false,  rare  in  the  bitch, 

875. 
Pretenders  are  numerous  in  the  cure  of 

canine  diseases,  76. 
Protrusion  of  the  rectum,  287. 

treatment  of,  ib. 

Punishment  avoided  by  lessons,  471. 
causes  blinking,  611. 
decreases,    whip    carried, 

611. 

not  shunned  by  dogs,  614. 
how  administered,  598. 
making  dogs  too  stanch, 

588. 

not  inflicted  on  suspicion, 
601. 


662 


INDEX. 


Punishment,  reprobated,  468,  611. 

Pupping,  346. 

Pups,  when  they  may  be  felt  in  the 

mother,  356. 
when  broken  difficult  to  bring 

away,  379. 

feeding  and  weaning,  27,  397. 
Purchasers  of  dogs,  hints  to,  536. 
Purgation,  acute,  263. 

treatment  of,  264. 
Purgatives,  53,  115. 
Puzzle-peg  saved  by  the  word  "up," 

"  Puzzling"  with  nose  to  ground,  547. 


QUAIL,  large  in  Canada,  578. 
Qualities  expected  in  good  dog,  468. 
Quarter  ground,  see  Beat. 
Quartering,  how  taught,  38. 

E. 

BABBIT-SHOOTING  reprobated,  604. 
Babies,  299. 
"  Kange,"  see  Beat 
Banging,  how  taught,  80. 
Beceipts,  various,  50.    See  the  names 
of  diseases  for  which  remedies  are 
sought. 
P«ctum,  278. 

protrusion  of,  287. 
treatment  of,  ib. 

Befinemcnts.  see  Accomnlishments. 
Begularity  essential  in  the  feeding  of 

dogs,  94. 

Belays  desirable,  not  a  pack,  563. 
Bemcdies,  dome-tic,  the  danger  of,  77. 
Bequisite*  in  a  dog.  467. 

in  a  breaker,  466. 
Eespiratory  organs,  200. 
Betention  of  urine,  328. 
Eetriever,  the,  21. 

bit  for  one  that  mouths,  521. 
evil  of  assisting,  519. 
footing  scent,  lesson  in,  517. 
for  water,  qualities  in,  508. 
made  whipper  in,  492. 
observes  struck  bird,  518. 
to  "down  charge,"  or  not,  521. 
Retrievers,  shape,  &c.  of,  523. 
to  beat,  644. 
to  fetch,  taught,  514. 
to  pursue  faster.  521. 
water,  to  fetch  cripples  first, 

645. 

how  fed.  524. 

Retrieving,  not  taught  first  season,  640. 
pointers   or  Fetters  not  to 

point  dead.  648,  654. 
Betters  not  pointers,  639. 
Rewards  always  given,  478.  481. 
Rheumatism,  274. 

acute,  ib. 
treatment  of,  276. 


Bice,  wild  lakes,  duck-shooting  in,  509. 
Bight,  the  signal  to  go  toward,  482. 

hand  for  -t  toho  '  and  u  drop,"  476, 
signals  more  than  left,  586. 
Bounding  dogs'  ears.  422. 
Bope  to  dog,  047. 
Bunning  bird,  firing  at,  590. 
Bushing  iu  to  "dead"  cured,  622. 

S. 

SAINT  Virus's  dance,  240 

symptoms  of,  241. 
treatment  of,  242. 
Scent  bad  in  calm  or  gale,  540. 

differently  recognized  by  pointers 

or  setters,  541. 

of  birds,  not  left  for  hare,  607. 
"•footing,"  an  initiatory  lesson  in, 

485. 
of  wounded  and  unwounded  birds 

differs,  641. 

Scrotum,  cancer  of  the,  819. 
Search,  "  dead,"  570. 

with  two  dogs,  641. 

for  wounded  bird  to  leeward. 

5S9. 

to  windward,  591. 
Seeking  dead,  how  taught,  598. 
Self-hunting,  prevent,  647. 
Sevvant  useful  in  the  field,  580. 
Seton,  to  make  a,  54. 
Setter,  the,  18,  25,  2S. 
the  Bussian,  10. 
to  retrieve,  638. 

Setters  crouch  more  than  pointers,  475. 
for  covert  shooting,  506. 
points  in,  639. 

Shoes,  to  render  waterproof,  57. 
Shooting  excellence    in    breaker,  not 

necessary,  465. 
Shot-belt  on  spaniels  and  setters,  496, 

602. 
Shy  birds  to  be  intercepted,  582,  685, 

636. 

Sight,  dog  not  to  be  out  of,  625. 
Sign  when  parturition  is  concluded,  390. 
Silence  enjoined,  467,  539. 
Simple  ophthalmia,  482. 
symptoms  of,  ib. 
treatment  for.  438. 
Single-handed,  shot  to,  628. 
Sinuses  up  the  claws,  440. 
Skin  diseases,  410. 

Slow  dog  associate  for  young  one,  615. 
hunting  more  than  fast  one, 

564. 

Snake,  bite  of  a,  57. 
Snipes,  three  lifted  in  succession,  642 
Snoring,  207. 
Snorting,  ib. 
Spaniel,  20. 

Spaniel.*,  age  when  sho'vn  game,  495. 
hunted  in  gorse,  ib. 
mute  preferred,  504. 
numbers  for  a  team,  500,  508. 


INDEX. 


663 


Spaniels,  requisites  in,  498. 

shot-belt  on  wildest,  494. 
that  pointed,  498. 
water,  how  broken  in,  508. 
Spike-collar,  586. 

fastened  to  check-cord,  580,  609. 
Sportsmen  to  break  dogs,  464. 
Spring,  dogs  broken  in,  58T. 
Springing  the  other  birds  after  pointing 

one,  575. 
Staggers,  55. 

Stanch,  made  too  by  heading,  583. 
Stone,  error  of  retrieving  with,  512. 

in  the  bladder,  325. 
Stoppage,  268. 
Strain,  remedy  for,  54. 
Strangulation,  267. 
Substances  fit  for  sick  dogs,  96. 
Summary  imparted  by  lessons,  532. 
Swelling  of  the  glans,  327. 

T. 

TAPE,  to  make  a  muzzle  of,  for  opera- 
tions, 428. 

Tapes,  their  use  objected  to  when  giv- 
ing medicine,  114. 
Teats,  swelling,  56. 

cancer  of  the,  408. 
Teeth  of  the  dog  are  hurt  by  luxuries, 

182. 

to  clean  the  dog's,  188. 
nipping  off  the,  193. 
Temperament  of  the  dog,  79. 
Temper,  hereditary,  525. 

in  breaker  necessary,  466. 
Temporary  teeth,  how  to  extract  them, 

184 

Testicle,  the  absence  of,  383. 
enlargement  of,  335. 
treatment  of,  ib. 
Thorns,  to  extract,  51. 
Time  proper  for  putting  to  the  dog.  855. 
given  determines  education,  468. 
saved  by  initiatory  lessons,  488. 
Timidity  cured,  580,  612.  618. 
"  Toho,M  first  good  one  in  the  field,  568. 
initiatory  lessons  in,  473,  474, 

476. 

Tongue,  paralysis,  193. 
injuries  to,  195. 
treatment  of,  ib. 
Tooth-brush.  188 

To  tell  when  the  bitch  is  in  pup,  357. 
Tranquillity,  how  to  ascertain  when  the 

dog  has  recovered  it,  83. 
Tumours,  fungoid,  340. 


Turning  back  brings  dog  away,  577. 
Two  dogs,  beat  of,  558,  559. 

U. 

"  UP,"  signal  for,  initiatory  lesson,  484 
Uterus,  dropsy  of,  845. 
form  of  the,  872. 

V. 

VAGINA,  cancer  of  the,  844. 
falling  of  the,  402* 
Vermin,  104. 

W. 

WALKERS,  fastest,  not  beating  most,  564. 
Ware  not  so  good  a  word  as  "  No,"  487. 
Warmth  necessary  for  dog,  818. 
Water-brash,  231. 

spaniels,  507. 

retrievers,  how  broken,  508. 

observe  struck  bird, 

618. 

qualities  in,  508. 
dog  taught  to  plunge  in,  512. 
Whip  carried  saves  punishment,  611. 

to  crack  loudly,  548. 
Whistle,  low,  473,  680. 

dissimilar  notes  on  one,  629. 
distinguishing  for  each  dog, 

628. 
inattentive  to,  how  to  punish, 

548. 

initiatory  lesson  in,  478. 
Whistling,  to  animate,  injudicious,  466 

589. 

White  too  conspicuous  a  color,  508. 
Wild  birds  intercepted,  582,  635,  636. 
Wild  dog  compared  with  cautious,  551. 

dogs  turning  out  best,  558. 
Wildfowl,  wounded,  retrieved  first,  645 
reconnoitred  with  glass,  508. 
Winged  birds,  see  Bird  winged. 
Womb,  shape  of,  372 

inversion  of,  404. 
treatment  for,  405 
Worming,  192. 
Worms,  51. 
Wounds,  53. 
Wounded  birds,  see  Bird  wounded. 


Youth,  game  followed  in,  liked,  498 

occupation  followed  in,  liked 
647 


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